


The Adventures of Alfred, the wanna be pokemon master

by ChildOfTheMoon86



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Adventure, Friendship, Gen, Human Names Used, Not Beta Read, Pokémon Trainer AU, Slow Burn, poketalia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-07-25 08:38:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 46,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16193969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChildOfTheMoon86/pseuds/ChildOfTheMoon86
Summary: Pokémon trainer au! Alfred is a budding Pokemon trainer with dreams of becoming the worlds greatest Pokemon master. There's just one small problem… Alfred is terrified of ghost Pokemon. The solution? Find the best ghost type trainer around, Arthur, and ask for their help. But as with everything in Alfred's life, nothing goes accordingly to plan. Let the adventures begin!





	1. The adventure begins

"Are you _really_ sure about this Al?" Asked Matthew, eyes worriedly following his twins movements.

"For the last time Mattie, __yes__!" Replied Alfred as he busily ran about gathering the last of the supplies he needed for starting his journey.

"Don't worry Mattie, I'll be __fine__. I'm gonna be the worlds greatest Pokemon master, take down the elite four and become the new champion, just you wait!"

"I know you like to dream big, but you've never even been past the city before and going on a journey is really hard…"

Alfred paused mid step and turned to regard his twin brother. Matthew stared at him with such worry it almost made Alfred reconsider leaving and just staying home. Almost. Taking two short strides, Alfred stood on front of his brother and gave his best smile.

"Really Mattie, I'll be fine. I'm ready to go out and experience the world for myself. And hey, don't forget I won't be alone, I've got Bouffy with me!" Bouffy, Matthew smiled at the mention of the affectionate nickname Alfred gave his buaffalant. Alfred and his buaffalant have been inseparable ever since their parents gave Bouffy to Al for his tenth birthday. A buaffalant might seem like a bit much for a ten year old, but not Al. Personally, Matthew much prefers his cubchoo, Kuma to Al's giant pokemon. Unlike most kids who got their first Pokemon for the professor at the Pokemon lab in the city near by, they got theirs from the farm their parents run. But in exchange for getting their Pokemon their parents made them wait to going on a journey until they we're older. They've both learnt a lot from working on the farm but now Al wants to get out and see the world. Honestly Matthew can't blame him, he to, thinks a journey would be good for his brother, but there's just one problem.

"But what if you run into a ghost Pokemon?"

"G-g-ghost?" Though he tries to hide it, Mat can tell Al is shaking, only slightly from the mention alone of ghost types.

"You know how scared of them you are-"

"I'm not scared!"

"-and Bouffy is a normal type, he can't fight ghost types." Al takes a moment to calm himself before smiling confidently at his twin.

"I know, don't worry I've thought about that and I know just what am gonna do!" Alfred turns back to his bag and rummages around for a few seconds till he pulls a map from the depths. "See I had been thinking about leaving for ages, but the thought of running into ghost Pokemon alone was to sc- uh, unnerving. Then it hit me! I need a travel partner who can handle the ghosts for me!"

"That's… actually rather smart of you."

"Thanks. I kinda wanted you to go on this journey with me, but we both know your a home body and I wouldn't feel right asking you to leave when you don't wanna. So then I thought, who could be my partner? Then I realised the answer was obvious, the best ghost trainer around! They can deal with ghosts since they train them and they can help me get over my, uh.. aversion. After all the worlds most awesome Pokemon master can't be afraid of ghost types!"

"Huh, I guess you have thought about this. But Al, we don't know any ghost trainers and what makes you think they'll agree?"

"I don't but, Gil told me about a guy and how to get him to agree to anything."

"Really?"

"Yup, his name's Arthur Kirk-something and all I have to do is eat some of his food and he'll be willing to agree!" Alfred gave Mat that over confident smile again but Matthew didn't feel any more reassured by it. But it did sound like a solid plan and if it worked Al would be able to get past ghost types safely and he'd have a travel partner to help make sure he didn't do anything stupid. "So… you know where to find this Arthur?"

"Yup, Gil told me where I could fined him, see?" Alfred asked as he waved his map at Matthew's face. Grabbing Alfred's wrist to stop the map, Mat could see the dark woods were circled. The woods are a 3 days walk from the farm but they're also full of ghost Pokemon.

"Al, you do realise the dark woods are full of ghost Pokemon right? And to find this guy you'll have to go through the woods, alone, right?" Mat could see his brother swallow nervously before nodding.

"This'll just be the first challenge on my journey, but I can do it!" Matthew sighed before smiling at his twin.

"There really is no stopping you is there? Okay, if you're really set on this then, good luck."

"Thanks bro, that means a lot."

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

And so that was how Alfred found himself lost in the Dark woods in the middle of the night. ' _ _It's okay, I can handle this.__ ' Al thought to himself. ' _ _Just don't run into any ghosts and you'll be fine!__ ' He had been ridiculously lucky so far and hadn't seen one ghost since entering the forest. ' _ _Damn it! I should have known Gil would give me bad directions.__ ' Alfred chose to blame Gilbert for his predicament and not the fact he wasn't paying attention. ' _ _Come on, come on, where is this guy? And why does he hang out in a haunted forest all day anyway!?__ ' Perhaps, Al thinks he should have asked that before leaving.

And so Alfred trudges on, feeling like he's being watched and seriously considering going home and just giving up on this whole journey thing. That is, until he sees the gentle glow of a fire up ahead. Feeling saved Alfred charges uncaringly through the woods towards the light. After what feels like an eternity Alfred enters a clearing and finds a small campfire and a tent. Looking around and seeing no one Al decides to sit down and wait for the camp owner to come back, the fires still going so they can't be far. About ten minutes later Alfred hears footsteps approaching. He quickly stands and looks about. Then a figure appears through the woods from the opposite direction he had come. The stranger pauses for a moment before speaking.

"Let me guess, your lost, right?"

"Uh, yeah." Now out in the light of the fire Al could see the strangers appearance better. He wore dark trousers and a grey t-shirt with a ghost symbol on the front. He also was wearing a dark purple cloak for some reason. Messy blonde hair sat atop a frowning face, green eyes piercing him with a fierce glare and those eyebrows! Al almost burst out laughing at the sight. Then the stranger spoke again.

"Fine, you can stay but only for the night, come morning your gone, got that?" They asked.

"Thanks, hey do you know a guy called Arthur? He's supposed to be in these woods but I think I got bad directions." Alfred questioned remembering the reason he came to the woods in the first place.

"Yes, I'm Arthur, why are you looking for me?" The stranger, Arthur, gave him a guarded look.

"You? But you're supposed to be some awesome ghost trainer." Alfred couldn't believe this, this guy was who he's been looking for?

"I do specialise in ghost types, what of it?" Arthur seemed to becoming more agitated but Al payed him no mind.

"Really? You don't look like it." ' _ _This couldn't really be the guy, could it?__ '

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Oh, now he looked angry, better back track fast.

"Nothing, I just was kinda expecting something else I guess not uh.." ' _ _Mr. Grumpy pants eyebrow face here.__ '

"Not what?" ' _ _Oh he looks livid, quick abort plan, abort!__ '

"Some grumpy Grampa sculling in the woods all night." That was not what he meant to say!

"That's it! I've heard enough, leave!" Arthur stepped forward threateningly.

"What? Come on dude, I'm only joking." Alfred tries to plead backing up.

"Leave, before I make you!" Arthur continues his advance.

"Come on, it was a joke." ' _ _This is bad, this is bad!__ '

"I've had enough of you! Pumpkin! Shadow ball!" Arthur calls as he pulls a pokeball from behind his back. ' _ _Oh no, that's a ghost type move, please tell me that doesn't mean-__ '

"Pum- AAAAaaaaaaarrrrrrhhhhhhh!" Alfred dropped to the ground in an instant at the sight of the pumpkaboo. Clutching his ears and forehead pressed against his knees brought up to his chest, Alfred screams his lungs out.

"What the hell?" Arthur stops and stares at the boy, cowering and screaming, looking utterly terrified.

"Aaaaaahhhh!"

"Are, are you scared of pumpkin?" ' _ _This can't be happening.__ '

Yup, this is the start of a wonderful adventure.


	2. Making plans

Arthur watched Alfred carefully as if he expected him to break down into hysterics at any moment. "Better?" After Alfred's little episode he had recalled Pumpkin to her pokeball and had proceeded to spend the next 20 minutes calming Alfred down enough for him to talk. They now sat by the fire and, like any civilised person should when faced with someone experiencing any kind of emotional turmoil, he offered him tea.

Gulping down the tea in the thermos Arthur gave him, Alfred let's out a deep sigh before answering. "Yeah, thanks."

"Good." Arthur says as he accepts the thermos back. "Let's try this again. Why are you looking for me? You know I'm a ghost type trainer but your scared of ghosts? That doesn't seem to make much sense to me."

"Hehe, yeah guess not." Alfred laughs nervously scratching the back of his head. "Okay you see it's like this..." and so Alfred begins to explain his plan to Arthur.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

After quietly listening to Alfred's plan Arthur simply responds with "Huh."

"Huh? That's all you got to say?" Alfred stares at Arthur with a look of complete surprise. "So does that mean you wanna join me?"

"I never said that." Arthur falls quiet for a moment clearly considering the situation. "This plan of yours clearly benefits you, but what would I get out of it if I were to join you on your journey? After all, I'm perfectly fine being on my own and see no reason to leave the dark woods any time soon? So, why should I join you?"

"Uh... I'll eat your food?" Now that he says it, that doesn't sound like a very convincing argument. Alfred had simply hoped that the guy would agree if he ate some of his food, but he never considered that Arthur would want to gain something else in return for joining him. Crap, what's he supposed to do now?

You'll... eat my food?" Why does he sound so hopeful saying that? His food can't be that bad can it?

"Uh, yeah?" Okay, maybe he was worrying about this for no reason.

"Excellent! Here try one of these, I made them fresh this morning!" Arthur says this as he excitedly grabs for his bag sitting by his tent, the happiest Alfred had seen him since meeting. He watches as Arthur pulls a plastic tub out and offers him the contents. Alfred cautiously takes one of the objects, a rounded crumbly, light brown piece of food about the size of the palm of his hand. Turning it over he can see small patches of black were the food was burnt, not enough to be considered ruined or too noticeable but definitely there. Arthur seems to notice him looking at the burnt patches as he says rather sheepishly "They did get a bit burnt around the edges, cooking over a campfire isn't the easiest from making scones." Alfred turns the scone over in his hands some more before looking up at Arthur.

"A scone huh? I think I might have had one before at a festival once." ' _Well it can't be that bad right? It looks okay, besides the slight burning and beside if I eat this then he'll have to agree to join me._ ' Giving the scone one last cautious look Alfred slowly raises it to his mouth and takes a bite. It's not horrible thankfully, a bit dense and could probably do with a bit more flavour but the burning isn't overly noticeable, so overall Alfred decides it's not bad, definitely not the worst thing he's ever eaten. He looks up to Arthur and the hopeful look he's giving him is almost too much. Smiling Alfred says "Not bad." and takes another bite.

"R-really?" Arthur looks so shocked for a moment as he watches Alfred happily munch away on his food. Then in an instant his face breaks out in a face splitting grin as he offers Alfred the rest of the tub. "Here, eat as much as you like!" Swallowing, Alfred reaches for another and takes a bite before asking "So, du' 'is 'en 'o'll 'oin me?" Arthur's face contours into one of disgust before answering.

"Please don't talk with your mouth full, it's disgusting and I have no idea what you just said."

"Oh, 'ory." Cleansing his mouth of food Al asked again " I said, so, does this mean you"ll join me?"

"I don't see why not." Alfred is so completely shocked by this response it takes him a moment to process that Arthur had just agreed to join him on his journey, all his ghost related problems have been solved!

"Seriously? You'll really join me? Sweet!"

Arthur smirks at him before telling him "Well you never asked, but I'm technically on my own journey but I don't have any particular destination in mind so I don't mine going with you. You do have a destination right, or at least a plan on where you want to go?"

"Huh, guess I never thought to ask, but yeah I have a plan, become the worlds greatest Pokemon master!" Alfred spreads his arms out as he proclaims his goal. But rather than receiving the praise he expects Arthur gives him an unimpressed look.

"Yes, but how do you plan to do that?" Alfred notices Arthur asks a lot of question.

"Isn't it obvious? Beat the gyms, win the league, take down the elite four and become the new champion!"

"Ah." Arthur sighs "So, you mean the same as every ten year old, only your what, 14?"

"16, and those kids all give up before the third gym but not me! Unlike then I'm set on this, just you wait, Feliciano won't know what hit him! And how old are you?"

"If you must know I'm 20, but at least you know who the current champion is, that's a start I suppose." There's that smirk again. "Alright, so then, where do you want to go?"

"As far away from this forest as possible for a start."

"And after that?"

"The closes gym! Which is uh..." Arthur sighs at Alfred's lack of direction, something he'll be doing a lot he thinks. Embarrassed at not having thought this far a head, Alfred rummages around in his bag and pulls out his map, turning it about for a better look in the fire light before finally finding a destination.

"Marcel city!"

"That's a few days walk south of here if I remember, Alright we leave first thing in the morning."

"Wait you don't expect me to sleep here do you?!" Alfred worriedly looked around him as if just remembering that the woods were haunted. Arthur raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yes, there's no point leaving now and besides if your so worried about ghosts then you should know they'll be less active during the day, so you'll be less likely to run into them. I'm not going to sit through your screaming all the way through the woods when we leave so your just going to have to wait the night out here."

"But what if the ghosts come in here?!" Arthur sighs again something Alfred is getting the feeling he does a lot.

"Do you have a repel or a cleanse tag?"

"What's a cleanse tag?" Arthur reaches into his bag and pulls a small piece of paper out and offers it to him.

"Here, this is a cleanse tag, if you keep it on you pokemon will be less likely to come near you. Think of it like a repel."

"Oh, thanks." Alfred takes the tag and holds it close. Suddenly Arthur stands and stretches.

"Okay, I'm going to bed now, good night." Without waiting for an answer he heads for his tent and climbs inside closing it up behind him.

"Uh, night." ' _There's no way I'm gonna get any sleep to night._ ' That's about the last thing Alfred thinks before he sets in for a night of staring at the fire before he slowly falls asleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was mostly just a transitional chapter but a few important thing have now happened mainly Arthur's agreed to join Alfred and Al learns that Arthur's food isn't as bad as he thought, or Al just has no sense of taste... and yes Italy is the champion. How did that happen? You'll just have to wait and see. Also I should say this doesn't take place in any particular region of the games, there in their own region.


	3. Getting to know each other

Alfred was having a wonderful dream, he had defeated the elite four and was just about to challenge the champion. Yup it was a pretty good dream, that was till he felt a foot nudging, though it felt more like kicking, him in his side forcing him to wake up and leave the dream behind.

Groggily Alfred looked at the foot then looked up to its owner. Arthur stood above Alfred, arms crossed and looking down at him rather impatiently. Seeing Alfred awake he continued to stare as he gave him another particularly hard nudge. Quickly scrambling away from the foot to avoid any further assault Alfred grumpily asks "Why'd'y keep kickin' me?"

Smirking Arthur sarcastically says "Oh, good he lives. Ready to leave now?"

" _Wha_?" Blinking a few times Alfred finally remembers were he is and jumps to his feet. " Oh! Yeah, we can go, the sooner the better."

"Good, then let's go." With that Arthur starts to head out the clearing.

"Wait what about your tent?" Alfred turns to where the tent had been only to be met with the open grass of the clearing, now slightly squished from being slept on. "Huh, you're all ready packed?"

Arthur pauses by the clearing edge to say " Yes, and I filled up my water bottle with fresh water from the creek nearby. I even had some berries to eat."

"What? You already ate breakfast? Why didn't you wake me?" Alfred pouts as he walks over to join Arthur.

"I tried, not my fault you wouldn't wake up." Once Alfred reaches the clearing edge Arthur resumed walking. Alfred's stomach gives a low growl as they walk and Arthur sighs. "Don't you have anything yourself? You didn't come all the way out here and not bring any food did you?"

"I did but I ate the last of it yesterday..."

"Well, I don't have anything either..." another particularly loud growl escapes Alfred's bottomless pit of a stomach and he sighs to himself. ' _Why'd_ _I not bring more food?_ ' After a moment of quite walking Arthur surprises Alfred by saying "But, I do have some berries left. I suppose you can have some."

"What? You really mean it?" Alfred hungrily watches as Arthur stops to rummage in his bag and pulls two pecha berries from the front compartment.

"Here."

"Sweet, thanks!" Arthur watches in mixed awe and disgust as Alfred finished both berries in two mouthfuls. "Man, that hit the spot." Hunger now satisfied for the time being, Alfred happily bounds on a head. Arthur just shakes his head and follows.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

About 20 minutes of silence later Alfred can't take it anymore and decides it's time he gets to know his new travel partner better. But before that, a thought occurs to him.

"Hey, Artie-"

"Don't call me that!"

"Why haven't we seen any ghost Pokemon? Come to think of it I haven't seen any since I entered the forest. I thought this place was supposed to be full of them?" Arthur's turns to regard Alfred a moment before answering.

"Well, a few reasons. Right now it's day time and most ghost Pokemon prefer to sleep during the day since their active at night. The cleanse tag I gave you will also be keeping the more timid ones away. But most likely you haven't seen any because they know your afraid and don't want to scare you."

"Wait, What?" Alfred stops walking to stare at Arthur. He thought Arthur was supposed to be an expert on ghost types so surely he should know that ghost Pokemon love to scare people, they practically live for it!

Judging by the look he gives Al, Arthur must know what he's thinking as he says "Contrary to what most people believe ghost Pokemon don't always want to scare people. Yes, they do enjoy giving people frights but they are not heartless, they won't scare people that they know are truly terrified of them. Scaring people and Pokemon to them is a practical joke, a prank but really their actually very nice if you get to know them. That's part of the reason I agree to join you. As a ghost type trainer, part of my goal is to educate people on the misconceptions of ghosts types, it wouldn't be right for me to let you go on being afraid of them. You told me you consider getting over your fear as part of your goal to becoming a Pokemon master, then in the same way, helping you to over come your fear will further my goal to becoming a ghost type master."

"Wow, guess I never thought of it like that." Arthur flashes a sad smile and whispers "Most people don't." as he continues walking, forcing Alfred to follow.

After a moment Al, decides now's the time for that getting to know your partner stuff.

"Alright, well, since we're just walking here, let's get to know each other better. I know you train ghosts, have a pumpkaboo and are 20 but that's about it! As travel partners we should know more than that!"

"Hmm, I suppose you do have a point. It would be beneficial to know at least the basics about each other if we'll be together for a while. Alright, question for a question, but if one of us doesn't want to answer then we don't push it, got that?"

"Yup! Okay, I'll start. So, uh what's your full name?"

"Oh, I suppose I never did properly introduce myself." Arthur stops for a moment to offer his hand for a handshake. Taking the hand Alfred smiles as he gives a firm shake as Arthur says "Arthur Ignatius Kirkland, a pleasure to meet you."

"Alfred F. Jones, same!" Arthur drops his hand and raises an inquisitive eyebrow. "F?"

"Yup."

"But what's it stand for?"

"No idea, my parents told me I have to guess and they'd tell me when I got it right, but nothing I guessed was it. I think Mattie knows but he won't tell me, the ass."

Arthur chuckles as they start walking again.

"Mattie?"

"My twin bro, and that's two questions."

"Alright, you have two questions then."

"Okay, what other Pokemon do you have?"

"Besides Pumpkin, I have Torch my Lampet, and Casper my Misdreavus."

"Huh, I thought you'd have more."

"I do, but their at home with my brothers."

"You have brothers?"

"Yes, four of them and the less said about them the better."

"They can't be that bad."

"You don't know them then, or you would agree. My turn, What Pokemon do you have?"

"Just Buaffy, he's my buaffalant!"

"Only one? Guess you really are just starting out huh?"

"Yup, my parents run the Meadow Plains farm so they gave me Buaffy when I turned ten. But they wouldn't let me go on an adventure until I was older so here I am!"

"When you said you we're just starting out, I didn't think you meant you started only a few days ago."

"Yeah, but look how far I've got! I found you and have a travel partner and now we're on our way to getting my first gym badge!"

"Well you certainly don't lack enthusiasm, I'll give you that."

"Okay, next question, why were you hanging out in the Dark Woods? You know, besides all the ghosts."

"Oh, that's simple, I heard Giratina was seen here."

"Holy! What?! Giratina? As in the legendary Pokemon, Giratina?!"

Arthur gave him an unimpressed look and voice heavy with sarcasm "No, Giratina the Magikarp. Yes, the legendary Pokemon."

"Wha... ah, uh..." Alfred didn't know how to respond to that much less how to feel about it. On one had, meting a legendary Pokemon is a once in a lifetime chance, but on the other...ghost Pokemon. This is a dilemma that could very nearly break Alfred, that is until Arthur waves his hand in front of his face.

"Helllooo? Earth to Alfred? Did you hear me?"

"Uh, what?"

"I said I never managed to find Giratina, it must of moved on before I got here."

"Oh..." Again Alfred is faced with the same dilemma now only reversed.

"Well it doesn't matter much now, we're out of the Dark Woods."

Blinking a few times to register the words, Alfred looks out to the now open plains and dirt path leading away from the woods. Letting out a whoop of joy, he runs down the path breathing in the fresh air as if he had been confined indoors all day and was only now just allowed out. Arthur simply shakes his head and follows on.

"Come on Artie!"

"I told you not to call me that!"

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

Meanwhile...

In a gym not too far away, a battle is coming to an end. With one last crushing blow the outcome is decided.

"Wurmple is no longer able to battle! The gym leader wins!" Battle over the challenger runs out of the gym, presumably to the nearest Pokemon center to care for their defeated team.

"Aiya, what's with all these weak challengers lately? I mean he used a Wurmple for crying out loud! Of course he was never going to win. Just once, I wish a decent challenge would come along..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot progresses, somewhat. They're out of the woods now at leat. Just some fun getting to know each other stuff and a little sneak into who the first gym leader might be. Review make my day so please? Maybe? Oh and check out my tumblr, same username, I'll be posting some world building art and a few animations of scenes as I write this. Thanks for stopping by, stay awesome!


	4. On the road to Marcel city

Most of the past two days had been spent walking, the silence filled with Alfred's mindless chatter and with only a few short stops along the way. Alfred insisting that they keep going, wanting to reach Marcel city as soon as possible. For the most part the journey was relatively uneventful, with the exception of a few... minor details.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Alfred, I'm letting them out and that's final. They've been in their balls all day, it's only fair they get to come out. Plus I still need to feed them." Arthur sighs, tired of this argument. It had started so simply, Arthur mentioned stopping for a quick break to let the Pokemon out and to have lunch, or what little lunch they could have, with their food supplies running so low. At first Alfred was happy to agree to lunch, until his brain caught up with the rest of what Arthur had said. Now, they were still walking, Alfred refused to stop even as they argued, and we're still no closer to an agreement.

"Yeah I know but..." Alfred worriedly glances at Arthur in case he were to just let the ghosts out without any other warning.

"No, no buts, your not a child, as much as you act like one. Look, how do you expect to get over your fears if you won't even try?" Alfred looks away at that, knowing Arthur's right but not quite wanting to admit it. "Here, we'll do this one at a time okay? You've already seen Pumpkin so she would be no bother."

"Do we really have to?" Deciding to take desperate measures, Al gives Arthur his best puppy dog eyes and pouts. The look has never failed him before, no one is immune to the kicked puppy look! ...Except, apparently, Arthur.

"Yes, and stop that you look ridiculous." ' _How_ _could my ultimate weapon fail?!_ '

"Look, see? Normal pokeball, nothing to be afraid off." Alfred rolls his eyes ' _It's_ _not the pokeball that I don't like, it's what's inside it._ ' "Now just take a deep breath and try to stay calm, and please, don't scream like your being murdered this time."

Huffing Alfred grumbles under his breath but does as he's told. ' _Okay_ _, deep breath, in...out...stay calm, don't freak. I can do this!_ ' Arthur smiles as Al let's out his breath. "Good, now, Pumpkin come on out dear, and meet Alfred."

' _Oh_ _, crap, I can't do this!_ ' Is all the time to think Al gets before the pokeball in Arthur's had opens and the light pours out to form and reveal the dreaded ghost. ' _Stay_ _calm! Stay calm!_ ' Are the only thoughts in Al's head for he fears if he thinks anything else he'll break down all over again.

"See? Nothing to be afraid off." Alfred's not really paying attention as Arthur smiles at his Pokemon.

"Pum, Pum?" Pumpkaboo asks sounding curious as it floats closer.

"Eeeaahhhggg!" Is the embarrassing sound Alfred makes as the ghost comes closer.

"Er, Pumpkin dear, I think you best not get too close, we don't want to break him." Arthur chuckles nervously seeing how on edge Alfred becomes as Pumpkin edges closer.

"Pumka, boo?" ' _Huh_ _'_ Al thinks as the Pokemon floats back to its trainer ' _is_ _it just me, or does it, did Arthur say she before?, sound kinda sad._ ' Alfred questions with in the confines of his mind as he warily watches the ghost Pokemon.

"Don't be sad dear, Alfred here is a bit afraid of ghost types, but we'll work together to help him get over his fear. But for now, how about some lunch?"

Alfred thinks his stomach must have ears as at the mention of food it gives a loud growl.

"Hehe, guess I could go something to eat, and Bouffy'll be hungry too." Happy to have a distraction, if only for a moment, Alfred pulls his pokeball from his pocket and let's out his beloved Bouffalant.

"Booouu!" The Pokemon cries as sound as it's let out, turning and giving his trainer a strong shove.

"Hehe, sorry Bouffy, guess your just as hungry as me huh? Well one thing I did pack enough of was your food." As Alfred sets to putting out Bouffy's food he hears the sound of more pokeballs opening. Spinning around he sees two more Pokémon floating by Arthur and promptly faints.

"Ah, I guess 3 at once was a bit much. Well I'll just feed you 3 then wake him up."

"Booouufff!"

"Oh, and you too Bouffalant."

"Bouffalant."

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

So, yes for the most part everything went okay. Apart from the fainting, Alfred considers yesterday a success, after all, he was able to not break down in front of Pumpkaboo, that's got to count for something!

Now, today was the day they would reach Marcel city and have his first gym battle! Alfred couldn't wait. After all he was on a roll, he totally kicked that other guys ass!

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Hey, look their's someone coming this way." Both trainers squint to focus on the figure approaching them down the path.

"They're probably heading for the Dark Woods then. Honestly I'm surprised we haven't run into someone sooner." As the figure gets closer Alfred waves to them and is pleased when the gesture is returned.

"Well they're friendly, let's go say hi!" Without waiting for a response Alfred runs on ahead down the path.

"Hey there!" Al calls once close enough "You heading to the Dark Woods?"

"Yeah, looking for some good ghost Pokemon to add to my team. Know any?"

Alfred tries his best not to looked panicked at the mention of ghosts and says "Uh, not really. My friend here is the expert on ghosts, not me."

"Oh, Really?" The traveler asks, looking past Alfred to Arthur just now reaching them.

"Yup, Hey, Artie-"

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that!"

"Know any cool ghost Pokemon in the woods?"

"A few, mostly those woods have Phantump and Trevenant but there are some Pumpkaboo too and if your really lucky you might find a Shedinja."

"Wow, you really know your stuff." Arthur looks quite smug at that.

"Of course. What ghost trainer doesn't know where to find ghost Pokemon?"

Annoyed at being ignored, Alfred decides to jump back in and ask.

"Hey man, since your a trainer wanna battle?" The traveler smiles at the offer.

"Alright, I'm game. Let's go."

The pair move off into the grassy plains at the set distance apart. Arthur follows and stands in the middle off to the side and calls out to the pair.

"I'll referee then. Since Alfred only has one Pokémon, this will be a one on one battle, no time limit. The battle will end when one Pokemon can no longer fight or a trainer forfeits, agreed?"

Alfred excitably bounces on the spot and drops his bag.

"Sounds good to me!"

"Same here." The traveler agrees.

Dropping his own bag Arthur calls out "Alright, choose your Pokemon!"

Alfred can hardly contain himself, this will be his first Pokemon battle since starting his journey! Smiling wide he pulls out his pokeball.

"Time to shine Bouffy!" Tossing the ball into the air, his Pokemon makes its appearance.

"Bouff." The Pokemon huffs, ready for battle.

"A Bouffalant, eh? Not bad. Now here's my partner!" Alfred eagerly watches for the reveal as the pokeball is tossed straight up in the air. ' _What's_ _it gonna be?_ '

"Let's go, Swinub!" The traveler calls as the Pokemon is revealed.

Seeing both Pokemon out Arthur calls to start the battle "Both trainers are ready, battle start!"

Not one to stand about Alfred jumps into action.

"Alright Bouffy, let's win this! Horn attack, go!"

"Bou!" Alfred's Pokemon is quick to respond, breaking into a run, it heads straight for its opponent, horn glowing with power and angled down for the hit.

"Ha, like I'll let you. Swinub, go between its legs and use Powder Snow!" Unable to stop from its momentum in time the Swinub easily runs between Bouffalant's legs and aims a strong Powder Snow at its belly.

"Haha! Like that'll bother us! Bouffy, show that Swinub who's boss! Stomp!"

"Booooaaaaffff!" Rearing up the Swinub below is left no where to go.

"Ah, Swinub, get out of there!" But the call comes too late as Bouffalant brings its weight down on the Pokemon below with a heavy stomp.

"Swwii!" Now trapped beneath Bouffy's hoof Alfred plans to finish the battle.

"Alright Bouffy, use Horn Attack while you've got it pinned!"

"Swinub! Endure quick!" This time the call is fast enough as just before Bouffy's horn makes contact the Swinub glows with power. Swinging it's head down and around Bouffalant throws the Swinub through the air to land across the field.

"Swwi- _winnn_..." Slowly the Swinub stands.

"That's it Swinub! We're not done yet! Powder Snow again!"

"That worked the first time but not again! Bouffy, Rage! The snow attack hits but Bouffalant charges forward as if unaffected, glowing from the power boost of Rage and lands the final blow to Swinub, sending it rolling across the field once more.

"Swinub is no longer able to battle, Bouffalant wins!" Arthur's call drives home the knowledge that Alfred's won and he jumps in the air giving a whoop of joy.

"Wooo! Yeah, I knew we could beat them, way to go Bouffy!" Running forward Alfred launches himself at his Pokemon, embracing him in a hug.

"Aw, damn, I thought we really had you there at the start." The traveler picks up his defeated Pokémon. "Don't worry Swinub, we'll win next time. You rest now."

Recalling his Pokemon The traveler departs for the Woods. "Thanks for the battle, maybe I'll see you around some time for a rematch."

"Sure!"

Once gone Arthur joins Alfred by his Pokemon.

"Well what do you know, your not a half bad battler."

"You sound surprised."

Arthur nods his head. "I am. Not a lot of people just starting out can handle a battle with such a large Pokemon so easily, especially against a smaller opponent."

"What can I say, I'm awesome!" Alfred flashes his winning smile and recalls Bouffy.

"You sound like that _ass_ , Gilbert when you say that."

"Hey, Gil's awesome! Have you _seen_ his torchic?"

"Yes, the pest tries to peck me every time it sees me. Still, it was funny when it pooped in his hair that one time." Arthur smirks at the memory. Alfred burst out in uncontrollable laughter at the idea.

"Oh man, I wish I could have seen that! Hahaha!" Arthur nods his head sagely.

"It's what he gets for keeping a hatchling on his head." Still laughing Alfred tries to contain himself long enough to ask.

"Say, how do you know Gil anyway? I mean I know he does other stuff when he isn't working as a farm hand for my parents but he never told me how he knew you." Arthur seems to mull over wether he should tell Alfred or not. Finally he settles on "Let's just say we met through a mutual friend. Well, more a friend of a friend but still."

"Oh, Okay. Come on, Marcel city can't be much further!"

"You never can just sit still for 5 minutes can you?" Arthur says this but he makes no objection to heading back onto the path with Alfred.

"Why would I sit around? There's a whole _world_ out there! Just you wait Artie, this is just the beginning!"

"And I'll make it your _end_ if you keep calling me that!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They'll get there, eventually... but hey first battle of the story, what do you guys think? The traveler is just a random person... or are they? Who knows... and yes, Gilbert has a Torchic, Yup, you guessed it, it's Gilbird.
> 
> But I wonder what's with the lack of traveling trainers? Maybe plot? Maybe not.
> 
> And yeah, I'm going with the anime version of Pokemon saying there names, let me know if you guys like that or would you prefer them just making random sound like in the games?
> 
> Tune in next time, when our hero's finally make it to Marcel city and the first gym!
> 
> Review please, maybe? Till next time stay awesome!


	5. Marcel City

"Finally." Alfred sighs as the outskirts of Marcel city become visible in the distance. "Come on Artie! We're almost their."

"Stop calling me that!" Arthur fumes and once again Alfred elects to ignore him and call him by that horrible nickname. Not caring for Arthur's bad mood, Al charges on ahead into town. It had been a long week, setting out, getting lost in the woods, finding Arthur, ghost Pokemon, convincing Arthur, ghost Pokemon, traveling together for the first time, battling! Oh, and did he mention ghost Pokemon?! Yeah, safe to say this had been the most eventful week Alfred's had in a long while, and he was loving it!

Marcel city has quite an interesting history. What started out as a rest stop for travellers going between Drake Force Fort, on the other side of the Vail rock mountains, and Lux city had grown over time into the now bustling city it is today. The Gym itself is said to sit on the site of the original rest stop built all those years ago.

But Alfred couldn't care less about all that as he quickly passes through the residential area that makes up the outskirts of the city. Nor does he stop once in the more business side of town, he's a man on a mission and he has only one destination in mind.

'There!' His mindless running pays off, as before him the entrance to the gym is in sight! Alfred slows to take in the sight as he passes through the outer gate, heading straight for the front doors. Above him a sign atop the gate proudly reads:

****Marcel City Gym** **

****and Trainer Dojo** **

Alfred let's out a low whistle as he walks through the courtyard. Statues of fists rising into the air line the path to the doors, probably meant to intimidate but only serving to excite Alfred even more. He can't wait another second, Al makes to run straight through the doors... Or he would, if he wasn't stopped the second he started to run by his bag being grabbed, acting like a bungee and bouncing backwards into the hold of his captor.

Looking round Alfred is met with a sight he's slowly becoming familiar with, an unimpressed Arthur.

"And, prey tell, just where do you think your going, hmm?" Alfred looks at Arthur like he's grown two heads.

"Uh, The Gym? Duh." Alfred tries to move forward but is still held in place by Arthur's hold on his bag, he thinks about just pulling his arms out and leaving Arthur with the bag but Arthur would probably just stop him again. So he decides to just stay still for the moment.

"No your not, first things first, before any gym battle you should take your Pokemon the the Pokemon center for a full health check to make sure their fighting fit. And you fought that trainer before, remember? Bouffalant needs the care before going into another battle. Doing anything less is just plain reckless and irresponsible!"

"Oh, uh, yeah your right. Guess in all the excitement I kinda for got about that." A look of complete anger crosses Arthur's face as he releases his hold on Alfred only to bring the hand back down to smack Alfred up side the head.

"Oooww! What was that for!" This only seems to make Arthur angrier as he snaps at Al.

"Your Pokémon's health comes before anything else! No exceptions, no excuses!" Alfred finds himself speechless as he's struck with a sense of déjà vu.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

_Alfred_ _couldn't stop crying, he was sorry but that didn't make things better._

_"_ _Bouuu_ _..." Bouffy huffs warm air in his face trying to comfort it's child trainer, but this only made Alfred cry harder._

_"_ _I_ _-I'm s-s-sorry B-bouffy!" He sobs into the Pokemon's fur._

_"_ _Ya_ _see! What did I tell you! You shouldn't have made him work with gear you've never used before!" Gilbert shouts from some were above the pair._

_"_ _I_ _-I'm s-sorr-ry!" He's the worst trainer ever! His Pokémon is hurt and it's all his fault! Gilbert sighs and pats his back._

_"_ _It_ _ain't me you should apologise to. Come on now, at least it wasn't anything worse than a sprained ankle. A few days rest and Bouffy'll be up and about no problem." The words are comforting but do nothing to help stop Alfred's tears._

_"_ _B_ _-bouf-fy!"_

_Come_ _on now, let's get you two back home. But remember Alfred you should always consider your Pokemon's health before anything else, no matter what, got that?" Alfred tearily nods into the fur of his injured Pokemon._

_"_ _Good_ _."_

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

Bowing his head in shame Alfred nods.

"Yeah, your right. I should think about Bouffy first." Surprised by the reaction, Arthur calms down and nods to Alfred.

"Well, at least you know better. Come on I saw a Pokemon center not far from here." Smiling back at Al, Arthur's adds "and besides, you still need to register into the league before you can challenge any gym. Something else you forgot in your excitement, hmm?" Snapping his head up Alfred face palms at his forgetfulness.

"Damn, you're right! Come on!"

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Here we are." Arthur waves to the large building before them and honestly, Alfred wonders how he missed it before. The four story building is topped with the recognisable red of pokeballs and a large LED light above the door clearly reads:

****Pokémon center** **

Passing through the automatic sliding doors the inside is just as impressive even for a lobby. On the right rows of video phones line the walls with a few people in the mist of conversation. The comfortable looking seats line the large floor space leading down the centre of the room to the front desk. And even the front desk looks impressive, with 3 computers spaced across the desk and 4 large screens filling the wall space behind. One is set to the news, a weather forecast , 2 screens detailing who's Pokemon are currently being seen or are waiting for collection and the last listing the number of rooms available.

"Whoa!" Alfred can't help spinning around on the spot as he gawks at the center.

"Careful," Arthur jokes "your country boy-ness is showing." Arthur chuckles at Alfred's look of wonder.

"Dude! This place is amazing!"

"I take it that you've never been to a center before then?"

"Nah, it would take forever to go back and forth to the City to treat all the farm Pokemon so we have our own clinic on the farm, but nothing like this!"

"Well today'll be full of new experiences for you then." Alfred quietly follows behind Arthur up to the front desk to were 2 nurses are currently on duty.

"Hello, welcome to the Pokemon center. What can I do for you today?" The nurse asks kindly.

"Hello nurse Joy," Arthur says as he places his 3 pokeballs into one of the trays sitting on the desk and hands over his trainer card "can you give them a full health check?"

Alfred watches Arthur before he quickly places his own pokeball into another tray and fishes out his own trainer card to hand over.

"Same please."

"Of course." Nurse Joy answers, pressing a call button and scanning their cards. The door to the right of the front desk opens and a Chansey walks out. "Chansey, take these to the evaluation room and bring the first one into clinic 3 please." The nurse asks, handing the trays over to the Pokemon.

"Chansey!" The Pokemon cries happily, taking the trays it walks back through the door.

"Please feel free to wait while we give your Pokemon their health check. Your names will be displayed on the board above when their ready to be collected." She smiles at them, handing back their trainer cards.

"Thank you."

"Thanks."

"Is there anything else I can help you with today?"

"Yes." Arthur answers, looking over at Alfred. "My... friend here would like to register for the Pokemon league."

"Of course, trainer card or Pokédex please." Nurse Joy patiently asks.

"Oh." Alfred quickly hands his card back over.

Accepting the card, Nurse Joy this time slots it into the computer and begins quickly typing.

"Okay, let's see here." She says as she begins the registration process.

"Alfred F. Jones, 16, from Meadow Plains, trainer ID No. 724839, one Pokemon." After a few more quick taps the computer lets out a quiet bing. "And done, your now registered with the Eprus region Pokemon league."

"Sweet!" Alfred watches as the nurse opens a draw behind the desk and places 2 boxes down and puts his trainer card on top.

"Here you go." She says pushing the lot over to Alfred.

"Oh, What's this?" He asks as he takes the items, putting his card back in his pocket and opening the first sleek black cardboard box.

"As per league guidelines, all newly registered trainers are to be supplied with one badge case and one fully loaded Pokédex."

"A Pokédex? Really?!" Pulling the contents of the first box out he finds the badge case. Quickly switching to the red box, he pulls out the promise Pokédex.

"Awesome!"

"Just scan your trainer card into the dex to register as its owner." The nurse explains. Alfred quickly does as told pressing the on switch and scanning his card. The dex takes a moment before Alfred's trainer data is registered.

"This is so awesome! I thought I'd have to save up for months to buy one of these!" Alfred cheers as he looks through his new dex's features.

"The league guidelines were changed last year. Before, if you weren't given one by a working Pokémon professor to trial a new model, you would have to buy one. The champion decided that this gave a unfair advantage to others and petitioned the league chair body to change the rules to freely distribute Pokédexs to all registered trainers."

"I think I remember hearing about that." Arthur says with a thoughtful look. "There was a massive argument between the league and Silph Co.. As the main manufacturers of the dex, Silph Co. claimed they would lose too much money distributing them for free. In the end a deal was only struck as the champion had the backing of the elite four and the trainers guild."

"Yes, that's correct." Nurse Joy nods.

"Well, whatever! Politics, yada, yada! I have a Pokédex now and that's all that matters." Alfred really can't be bothered with all the ins and outs of companies and corporate business problems, he got something out of it so who cares?

"Well, thank you again, Nurse Joy."

"Yeah, thanks a bunch!"

"Of course."

Walking away from the desk Alfred plops down on one of the seats.

"So, how long do you think they'll be?" Arthur comes to stand over Alfred, making no move to sit.

"Awhile. Come on, don't just sit around, we still have a lot of things to do."

"Eh? Like what? I can't battle without Bouffy."

"Supply shopping. Now come on, up." Arthur punctuates his last word with a kick to Alfred's foot.

"Uurrgghh! Fine!" Al whines as he gets up and follows Arthur out the center.

Once outside Arthur turns to Alfred and asks "How much money do you have?"

"Uh, bit personal."

Arthur rolls his eyes "I'm not asking to know how rich you are, we need to know how much we can buy."

"Oh." Alfred flushes as he fishes about in his bag for his wallet. Catching a glimpse into Al's bag Arthur raises an eyebrow.

"Do you have any sort of coordination to your packing?"

"Nah, I just sorta throw stuff in."

"Yes, I can see that." After a bit more searching Alfred pulls his wallet out and looks inside.

"Uh, I've got about 1,820."

"Hmm, that's not a lot, added mine that gives us just under...8,000." Arthur's seems to contemplate what to do while Alfred tries not to feel to embarrassed about his lack of money.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do. You go find a pokemart and buy the medicine and I'll buy the food and anything else we need." At this Arthur pulls a list from his pocket to give to Alfred.

"Do you just carry lists of things you need with you all the time?" Looking the list over Alfred then adds "And I can afford all of this..."

Rolling his eyes Arthur pulls his wallet out and hands Alfred a few notes.

"I never said you would have to pay for all of it. We're travel partners, so as such, we share our supplies _and_ our money."

"Oh, yeah guess that makes sense." As Alfred takes the money and Arthur turns to leave.

"Buy as much of that list as you can, we'll meet back here in an hour." And with that Arthur disappears into the crowd.

"Um, sure..." Alfred looks around feeling a bit lost. When he entered the city he barely even noticed the crowds, too focused on the gym. Then he was focused on following Arthur around, now on his own he realises how busy this place is. ' _Okay_ _, no big deal. Not like I haven't been in crowds before at festivals, I just need to find a pokemart._ '

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

That turns out to be easier said than done. Crowds at festivals are friendly places and people don't mined if you wonder about looking lost, here in a busy city, it seems people aren't so kind. Alfred found himself being shoved more than a few times by the crowds, but eventually he finds his way to a pokemart.

' _Alright_ _let's see._ ' Looking at Arthur's list Al grabs a basket and heads down the isles.

20 minutes of shopping later and another 15 of getting lost on the way back, Alfred finds his way to the Pokemon center and sees Arthur sitting inside with several carrier bags. The contents spread out over the seats as Arthur begins sorting things into his own bag.

"Hey, Artie." Rather than the usually angry response Alfred is forced to dodge a small cardboard box.

"I got the stuff you asked for." He says, scooping up the box and dropping his own carrier bag down on the seats, moving to sit beside Arthur.

"Did you get all of it?"

"Most, had to leave some of the revives, too expensive to get everything."

"So what did you get?"

"5 Potions, 2 Super Potions, 1 Revive and 1 Full Heal all for the low, low price of 4,800. So what you get?"

"Food mostly, enough to do us at least a week."

"Cool." A bing rang out through the center and Alfred looked up to the boards, he glances at the news screen, now no longer the weather but ignores it as he sees their Pokémon are now done.

"Sweet they're finished!" Alfred happily goes to the front desk and collects their Pokémon as Arthur finishes up packing.

" _This_ _, the third break-in within two weeks..._ " Alfred can hear from the T.V as he reaches the desk.

"Here you go, both yours and Arthur's Pokemon are fighting fit. Come again anytime."

" _..._ _this_ _, in line with the declining number of..._ "

Nurse Joy waves to them as they leave.

"Now to the gym!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mwhhahhaha! You thought you were getting a gym battle? Nope! You get to see the gym but you'll have to wait till next time to go in. Instead you get a Pokemon center and shopping. But hey, flashback and plot? For those who want to know what kind of champion Feliciano is, there's a bit of insight. And for those interested, I now have a map the region up on my tumblr, check it out and tell me what you think.
> 
> Till next time, stay awesome!


	6. The first Gym

"Okay, this time for real." Alfred and Arthur stood at the gate entrance to the gym, one ready to enter and take on the challenge, the other curious to see how there partner would handle their first official gym battle.

Walking through the courtyard a second time is no less impressive than the first, the statues still stand tall and intimidating. While Alfred sets his sights on the door a head Arthur seems to be taking a greater interest in the architecture.

"So, _this_ is the Marcel gym? Well, it definitely shows it's a fighting type gym."

"It is?" Alfred turns to look at Arthur.

" _Obviously_ , if the statues of fists wasn't enough of a giveaway, the name sure is, trainer dojo? Fighting type is fairly obvious."

"Huh," turning back around Alfred regards the statues once more "yeah, guess so. In all the excitement I never really thought about what type of gym it was. But now that you say it, it is pretty obvious."

"Do you think you'll be able to handle it?"

"What'd you mean?" Alfred tilts his head at the question.

"Bouffy is a normal type, that puts you at a disadvantage against fighting types."

"No problem, Bouffy's _strong_ and we've handled fighting types before and come out on top. Trust me, we got this." Without waiting for a response Alfred heads on in.

"We'll see."

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

Inside the gym is rather barren compared to the grandeur of Pokemon center, even the pokemart looked more impressive than the empty hall they find themselves in.

"Wow, this place is kinda a let down."

"I'm not sure what you were expecting."

"I don't know, just something, _more_ _,_ I guess."

"Well let's find the gym leader and get this challenge started shall we?"

"Sure." Heading further down into the hall they can see a number of rooms on either side. Most appear empty but in a few manikins and fighting equipment can be seen.

At the end of the hall the gym opens up onto a battle field with benches for spectators on one side and a large dark screen on the other, at the far side the only closed door can be seen.

"Well Alfred?"

"Huh?" Arthur shakes his head at Al's cluelessness.

"Make your challenge."

"But," Alfred looks around the empty battle field "there's no one here." Arthur rolls his eyes and sighs.

"Of course _not_ , gym leaders don't just stand about all day waiting for a challenger, but they'll be near by since the gym isn't closed. If your loud enough they'll hear you. That shouldn't be too hard for _you_."

"Well, alright then." ' _He_ _better not be messing with me or I'm gonna look real stupid shouting at no one._ ' **"** ** **I'VE COME TO CHALLENGE THE MARCEL GYM LEADER!**** "

"Ah, dear god man! I didn't think it was possible for a human to reach that decibel." Arthur grumble to himself some more about ears ringing, but Alfred stopped paying attention when the door at the end of the field opened.

"Ayia! So loud! Kids these days."

Out of the door a man dressed in maroon robes appears, he looks to be in his 30's but he could be older, Alfred can't really tell. The man looks over at the pair eyes widening at them, then, after a moment, he settles his gaze on Alfred.

"You the challenger?"

"Yup!" The man continues to give Al a judgmental stare before huffing.

"Fine, but you better not waste my time. How many gym badges do you have?"

"None, this'll be my first gym battle!"

"Definitely better not be wasting my time," switching his gaze to Arthur he asks "you here for a battle too?"

"Just watching." Arthur says as he heads for the benches off to the right of the field.

"Alright then." The man walks over to a chest by the end of the benches and opens it as he continues "Since you don't have any badges I'll use these two," closing the chest Alfred can see the man now has two pokeballs. "Yong Soo! Get your lazy ass out here!" The man shouts back into the room he came from.

A reply of "Coming teacher!" is heard clearly across the field as a teenage boy runs out to join the man.

"Ooohh! A new challenger!"

"Yes, now go do your job." The man shoos the boy out onto the field were he takes his place upon the referee block at the center of the right edge of the marked field. As he does this the man moves into the marked box for trainers on his side of the field.

"I am Wang Yao, leader of the Marcel City gym and trainer dojo. You, may call me Yao. I hear by accept your challenge, trainer."

"By official league guidelines, this will be a 2 on 2 battle." Yong Soo announces.

"Wait, two? But I only have one Pokemon."

"Urgh, then you are wasting my time! You must have 2 Pokemon or the battle cannot commence. Either get a second one, or leave!" Yao angrily complains.

' _Crap_ _! Now what, I can't have come all this way and not battle! Oh! That's it!_ '

"Hey, Arthur! Let me borrow one of your Pokemon."

"What? No."

"Aw come on, please. I won't need to use 'em, just so I have two for the battle. Pleeeaaassseee."

"Wasting my time here!" Yao calls and Alfred is beginning to really not like this gym leader.

Sighing Arthur gives in to Alfred's pleading.

"Fine. You can borrow Pumpkin, since your getting better around her." Arthur holds out his pokeball and Alfred bounds up to him and snatches up the ball.

"Thanks Art, your the best!"

"Oh, _god_ it just gets worse with you." Arthur moans as he holds his head in his hands. Returning to his designated spot Alfred turns back to Yao.

"Ready now!"

"Finally!" Yao sighs.

“Alright, well as I was saying, this will be a 2 on 2 battle, no time limit. The battle ends when both of one persons Pokemon can no longer battle or a trainer forfeits. Understand?" Yong Soo asks.

"Yup, sounds good to me!"

Smiling as he picks up his flags Yong Soo calls out,

"Trainers ready? Begin," turning to Alfred he adds "Good luck!"

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Alright Bouffy, time to shine!" Alfred calls as he sends out his Pokemon.

"Booouuu!" Bouffalant cries, ready for battle.

"A normal type, really?" Yao shakes his head. "Riolu, time to fight!" He calls as he sends out his first Pokemon.

"Ri, ri!" The Riolu shouts, looking ready to punch something. Once both Pokemon are on the field the screen lights up, displaying their Pokémon and a health bar for each.

"Alright, Bouffy time to win our first gym badge. Let's show them what we can do! Horn Attack, go!"

"Boouuff!" The Pokemon cries out as he charges for the Riolu.

"Pah, Riolu, Bulk Up then Counter." Yao dismissively orders. The Riolu glows with power as it's Attack and Defense rise. As Bouffalant reaches the Riolu, he swings his head down for the Horn Attack and strikes the Riolu in its chest. But as the horn makes contact the Riolu grabs hold of it and uses the momentum of the attack to move up and over Bouffalant's head. Still holding onto the horn on the way down, the Riolu lifts Bouffy up and over it's head, smashing him into the ground with a powerful Counter.

"Boooou!"

"Bouffy!" Alfred looks up from his Pokemon to the screen, that one hit taking half of Bouffalant's health. "Bouffy can you get up?"

"B-Boouufff..." Bouffalant whines as he rises to his feet. "Boooooouuuufff!"

"Yeah, that's the spirit! We're not done yet."

"You're persistent, aren't you?" Yao asks.

"I'll show you persistence! Bouffy Lear!"

"Boo!" The Pokemon is quick to respond, lowering Riolu's Defense.

"Let's see just how far that persistence will get you. Riolu, Force Palm!" The Riolu nods before taking of in a fast run straight at Bouffalant.

"Bouffy Lear again!"

"Boou!" Bouffy complies, lowering Riolu's Defense a second time.

' _That's_ _it get in nice and close._ ' Just as the Riolu is about to reach his Pokemon Alfred calls out "Bouffy, Stomp now!" As if knowing what his trainer planned Bouffy takes almost no time to respond rearing up as the Riolu jumps forward for the attack, and brings it's hoof down on it's back.

"Riii!" The Riolu cries out is it is pinned under the weight of its opponent.

' _Interesting_ ,' Arthur thinks from his spot on the sidelines ' _that's_ _the same tactic he used against that other trainer.'_

' _Hehe_ _, we've got you now!_ ' "Bouffy! Horn Attack!"

"Foolish boy, you think you've got the upper hand? Hardly, Riolu! Force Palm!"

It all happened in an instant. As Bouffy brought his head down for a Horn Attack the Riolu, Without looking as it was pinned faced down, raised its hand up and placed it on Bouffalant's descending head. A moment of nothing, before the energy of the attack flowed out of its palm and into Bouffy's head, sending Bouffalant flying backwards and freeing the Riolu. With a crash Bouffy rolled across the field away from the Riolu, defeated.

"Bouffalant can no longer battle, Riolu wins!" Yong Soo calls out and Alfred is left to stare at his defeated partner.

"Wha- B-bouffy..."

"What will you do now?" Yao asks as Alfred mechanically raises his pokeball and recalls Bouffalant. "Try to win with another's Pokemon? Will you treat them as recklessly as you treat your own?" Alfred looks away, he knows the answer but doesn't want to say it, saying it means accepting his defeat.

"Alfred?" Arthur asks from the side. ' _Damn_ _it, Artie! I know!_ ' Sighing in defeat Alfred quietly says "I... I forfeit the match." Alfred expects more ridicule from Yao about wasting his time but is surprised when none comes. Instead Yao walks across the field and looks down at Al, smiling slightly.

"Good."

"I lost." He says dejectedly.

"No, you knew when to quit, that is not losing." Alfred looks up surprised.

"But, I didn't win."

"No, but you did not lose either. Your a smart trainer, by far the best challenger I've had in a long while."

"Really?"

"Yes, now go away."

"Wha?"

"Go, and get better, get another Pokémon for your team then come back and challenge me again when your ready." Smiling widely Alfred nods quickly.

"Yeah! Come on Art! First we need to go to the Pokemon center but then, I'm gonna get me a new Pokemon!" And with that Alfred charges out the gym only pause in to shout "I'll be back, so be ready!" Before disappearing.

Sighing Arthur stand and says "That boy, he can be such a child. Thank you for the battle." before turning to leave.

"Arthur." Yao says behind him and Arthur freezes on the spot. "Don't you think it's about time you went home?" Turning Arthur glares at Yao. "Ah, there's that look, the familial resemblance between you brothers is unmistakable." Raising his head Arthur says "I don't know what you ****_think_ **** you know, but I have no desire to go back home anytime soon." Yao just chuckles at that.

"You Kirkland's are all the same."

" _Goodbye_ , **__**Yao**__**." Arthur bites out as he turns to leave. Just as he's almost out of ear shot he hears Yao call "Say hello to you brothers for me!" And Arthur grinds his teeth as he hears laughter follow him out.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

_..._

_..._

_..._ _CLICK_ _._

_"Any luck?"_

_"Tsk, no. Damn thing must have moved on."_

_"Shame, that one would have been useful. Alright then, we're moving you on to target No.6 in sector D. And_ try _to_ _actually be of some_ use _this_ _time won't you? We wouldn't want to make the Boss_ angry _now_ _, would we?"_

_"_ _Che_ _, sure, whatever."_

_..._

_..._

_..._ _CLICK_ _._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it folks, the first gym battle. Show of hand, who thought Alfred would have won? And now we're really setting the ball rolling, Yao knows Arthur? Or more specifically he knows his brothers. Hmmmmm I wonder, do I smell plot? Do you? Things are starting to come together these last few chapters. But for now Alfred's world is sunny and bright. Next stop, time to add a new Pokemon to the team. Free scones to the one who can guess what it'll be.
> 
> Reviews are nice, so maybe? Till next time stay awesome!


	7. A night at the Pokémon center

"What took you so long?" Alfred questions outside the gym gates.

"Yao wanted to wish you luck but you ran out before he could say anything. He asked me to pass that along to you."

"Oh, well, remind me to thank him when I see him again. Come on, next stop, The Pokemon center! Bouffy could do with the TLC."

"Right."

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Hello again, did you win?" Nurse Joy asks when she sees the pair walking up to the front desk.

"Nah, But I'll get him next time! But could you take care of Bouffy for me?"

"Of course." The nurse rings for the center Pokemon as Alfred repeats the process from earlier.

"Au-audino?" The Pokemon questions as it arrives.

"Hey, that's an Audino right?" Alfred asks as he watches the Pokemon take the tray for Nurse Joy.

"Take this into clinic 2 please," She says before turning her attention back to Alfred. "Yes, the center has a number of working Pokémon involved in the care of others."

"Cool, this is the first time I've seen one in person!"

"Please feel free to wait while we give your Pokemon the best possible care."

"Thanks."

"Actually," Arthur cuts in "we would like to book a room for the night, if that's possible."

"Not a problem. Let's see here." As Nurse Joy begins tapping away at her computer Alfred looks at over to Arthur questioningly.

"It's getting late, so we might as well stay the night here rather than camping out. We can leave first thing in the morning, then you'll have all day to look for pokemon to catch." Arthur reasons.

"Yeah, guess your right. Oh! I almost forgot, here's Pumpkaboo back." Alfred suddenly remembers as he hands back over the pokeball.

"I was beginning to wonder if you would remember." Arthur smirks as he takes the ball back.

"Okay, we have a double room available of the fourth floor, if that's okay?"

"Yes, that's fine." Arthur answers for them.

"Okay, let me just book you in, cards please." The cards are quickly exchanged and swiped in and returned. "Okay, your room 423, here's your room key."

Nurse Joy adds as she hands over a red and white card key.

"Thank you."

"Thanks! Alright let's go check out our room!"

"The elevator and stairs are just behind the video phones. Have a nice stay." Nurse Joy smiles as they head for their room.

"Wow! This is amazing!" Alfred gawks at the room the moment they step inside. Arthur pushes past him to make his way over to the bed on the right.

"You really haven't been to a city center before have you? This is basic accommodation for centers as big as this." Arthur comments off handedly as he sets his bag down by the bed. Alfred really wonders on what he's been missing out on all this time as he takes in the room.

Two semi large single beds are pushed up against the wall on either side of the room. A large window is in the centre of the far wall between the beds, giving a perfect view of the city outside. The carpet is soft and Alfred suddenly feels bad tracking dirt in on his shoes. At the foot of the right bed is a oak desk and comfortable looking chair, while on the wall beside the door a large T.V screen sits mounted on the wall. Overall the room is sleek, clean, bright and all to inviting. As Arthur moves over to the desk Alfred walks to the second bed on the left and drops his bag to the floor before sitting down. The bed is just as soft and comfortable as it looks, and Alfred can't help but flop back. He closes his eyes and let's out a sigh, relishing the feel of a real bed after a week of camping in a _ _very__ thin sleeping bag. He opens them again when sound fills the room, turning his head he can see Arthur with a remote, flicking through the T.V channels.

"Anything good on?" Al asks as he sits up.

"Just the usual that Pokemon centers get, news and the first 5 poké stations, nothing too exciting." Arthur says as he flicks the T.V over to a screen showing the status of Bouffalant. "And the notifications page for any Pokemon you have down stairs." He explains at Alfred's puzzled look. The remote lands next to Alfred on the bed as he looks back to the screen.

"Pick whatever you want." He says as he makes for the door.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"To the dining hall, it's on the second floor. I feel like grabbing some dinner and I also need to let my Pokemon out and feed them too."

"Wait, I'll come with you!" Alfred says as he quickly stands.

"Are you sure? Last time you fainted when I let them all out at once." Alfred looks unsure for a second before he nods his head firmly.

"That was 'cause I wasn't expecting it! Besides, I'll never learn to get over my fears by hiding away every time you plan on bringing them out. It's like you said before, it's not fair on the Pokemon that you have to plan letting them out around me." Arthur looks taken aback by this before smiling slightly.

"Seems that battle did some good for you after all." He jokes lightly.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

The dining hall is packed when they arrive. It's early evening and many trainers, both those staying at the center and passing through, have all come in for the free center food.

"Go find a table, I'll get the food."

"Okay." Alfred agrees and turns to search for an available table, it takes a bit of searching but he finally finds one near the far right wall of the hall.

A few minutes later Arthur arrives, carrying two trays, one with two plates of human food, the other stacked with three full bowls of Pokemon food. Alfred quickly stands and takes the human food tray of Arthur's hands and places it on the table as Arthur sets the bowls down on the floor by the tables edge.

Once seated Arthur pulls his 3 pokeballs out and places them on the table.

"Ready?" He asks.

"Go for it." Al replies as confidently as he can.

"Remember, just try to stay calm. They won't hurt you."

"Okay."

"Alright, Pumpkin first." Arthur says this as he reaches for the normal pokeball releasing the Pokemon beside him.

"Pum, Pum?" She questions once out and sees Alfred sitting across from her trainer.

"It's alright dear." Arthur reassures his Pokemon as she floats by his head, keeping her distance, not wanting to scare Alfred.

"You alright?"

"Y-Yeah." Al nods, letting out a shaky breath.

"Okay, next Torch." Arthur says as he picks up the Dusk ball. Alfred distantly remembers wanting to ask about the different pokeballs, but is preoccupied desperately trying not to have a meltdown as the pokeball opens and a Lampent appears.

"La! Lam- ent!" The Pokemon cries as soon as it's out, diving behind Arthur. Sighing Arthur twists in his seat to look at the cowering Pokemon.

"Come on, Torch, it's fine." He tries to reassure as the Pokemon continues to hide, pulling Arthur's cloak over itself. Alfred blinks at that, fear momentarily forgotten.

"What's with it?" He asks tilting his head to try and get a better look.

"Torch here is a bit skittish. Large crowds like in here scare him, plus you fainting on him the other day didn't help." Arthur says as he frowns at Al.

"I didn't mean to scare him." Al mumbles. Arthur shakes his head an picks up the last pokeball, a sleek black and gold ball.

"Hey, is that a Luxury ball?"

"Yes, now here's the last one, Casper. Just, try to stay calm."

"Okay." Al says as he swallows, watching the ball open and reveal the Misdreavus.

"Missss, misdreavvvus." It snickers at seeing Alfred again. Al finds himself torn between giving into his crippling fear he can feel creeping up his body, every instinct of his screaming at his to run, get as far a way as possible. Or feeling oddly insulted at the laughing Pokémon. He decides that feeling insulted is better than giving into running away.

"H-hey!" Al cries as indignantly as he can, choosing to ignore his stutter.

"W-what 're y-you la-aughing at?!"

"Misdre, misdre!" It continues to snicker.

"A-arthuuur!" Alfred whines, hoping for him to help out.

"Ignore him Al, Casper's just messing with you. Now you three behave and eat your food, go." Arthur shoos his Pokemon towards the bowls, which Alfred now notices he had set as far away from him as possible. In fact if he sits back a bit he can't even see them for the table. Letting out another shaky breath Al turns his attention to his own food. But as he eats he can't help but watch the display going on at the other end of the table.

Arthur has already turned away from his Pokemon, eating his own food. But behind him things aren't so calm. Torch is still trying to hide under Arthur's cloak, something else Alfred keeps meaning to ask about, while Pumpkin somehow rolls her eyes and floats down.

"Pummm, ka." Grabbing hold of Torch by the arm, she tugs him out from his hiding place and drags him down to the food, placing him in front of the middle bowl.

"Lam! Lam, pe!" The Pokemon protests at being moved out of hiding.

"Pum, pump-ki!" Pumpkaboo grumbles, floating in front of Lampent and pointing at the food.

"La..." Torch somehow looks teary eyed as he looks back up at Arthur before setting down to eat. Meanwhile through the whole scene Misdreavus happily circles above the pair still snickering.

"Missss, missssdree." Seeming happy that Lampent is now eating Pumpkaboo floats up and smacks Casper on the back of the head.

"Pum, Pum!" It frowns at Casper, pointing to the bowl on Lampent's right. Still laughing, Misdreavus drops down to the bowl and begins to eat. Now satisfied Pumpkin moves down to the last bowl, letting out a quiet sigh as she begins to eat. Looking over the table edge at the trio and back to Arthur, Alfred isn't sure what to say to the display.

Arthur must be some sort of mind reader as he smirks at Al and tells him.

"That's normal for then."

"Oh." Come to think of it, Alfred has always been so afraid of ghosts that he's never really stopped to consider them as, well, Pokemon. Which is silly now that he thinks about it. For as long as he can remember he's seen them as some sort of big scary monster that'll steal you away in the night, something that you can't stop and can't fight. But seeing them like this, he's beginning to realise their just like any other Pokemon. Maybe it wasn't too far fetched of him to think he can get over his fear, maybe he can really do this!

Or so he thought until a Duskull suddenly appeared right in front of his face.

"Nnaaahahaa!" Al screams and curls up into a ball.

"Skull?" The Pokemon questions as it floats closer.

"Oh, dear." Arthur sighs at seeing Alfred break down again.

"Mmmmmhhh." Alfred desperately tries to muffle his cries as he preys the Pokemon will go away. Somewhere above him he can here Arthur talking to someone.

"What's up with him?"

"Sorry about him, he's a little afraid of ghosts."

"But, you have ghost Pokemon right here."

"Yes, trying to get him used to them. Do you mind moving your Duskull? I'm afraid he'll pass out again if it get's any closer."

"Oh, sure. Come on Blake, let's try finding another table."

"Dus? Duskull..."

"Al? It's alright now, they left." Arthur tries to coax him out of his fear full position. "Come on now, you we're doing so well. Ah, Torch! Come now, not you too..." Alfred can hear Arthur sigh as he continues to shake. At the mention of Lampent's antics Al thinks he can imagine the Pokemon trying to hide again. Curious to see for himself, he slowly uncurls and looks up. Sure enough, he can just barely see the ghost Pokemon hiding behind it's trainer. Despite himself Alfred can't help but laugh, who'd have thought it? A ghost Pokemon scared? Of him, of others? It's suddenly to much and Al bursts out laughing.

"Hahahaha! A-a scared ghost! Hahahaha!" Arthur doesn't look to pleased at that but Alfred finds a strange sense of comraderie with Casper as he once again starts snickering along with Alfred's laughter.

"Missss! Mis, mis!"

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

Dinner over, once back at their room Alfred checks to see Bouffy's status.

"Oh, Hey, Bouffy's all done. I'm gonna run down and get him."

"Alright." Once he returns to the room he finds Arthur wearing Rapidash patterned pyjamas.

"Pfff, nice PJ's." Al laughs. Up until now Alfred had never seen Arthur's sleep wear as he always changed in his tent. Flushing slightly Arthur turns away and climbs into bed.

"Shut it!" He snaps as he gets settled.

"Alright, alright, I was just messing with you." Changing, Al climbs into his own bed.

"G'night."

"Good night." They bid each other before drifting of into dreamland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Transitional chapter is transitional but you get to see Arthur's Pokemon. Pumpkin is quite motherly to the others and helps keep them in line. Torch is easily frightened by just about anything and Casper is a little prankster, always messing with anyone and everyone.
> 
> Review please? Till next time, stay awesome!


	8. Welcome to the team

Alright, let's go!" The pair stood outside the Pokemon center. It was early morning, the sun only just lighting up the sky.

"Hold on."

"Urgh, What _now_?" Alfred whined. He couldn't take all this stopping and starting, can't Arthur just let him do what _he_ wants for a change without micromanaging everything?

" I shouldn't have to ask but, _please_ tell me you have some pokeballs? Or do you plan on catching a Pokemon with your hands?"

"Ha!" Al laughs, opening his bag to show Arthur it's contents "That's one thing I _did_ bring when I left home see?"

True enough, at the bottom of the bag, under piles of clothes, a box of cookies and other odds and ends Arthur can just about see the red of pokeballs, shrunk down to there carrier size.

"What do you know, I guess your not the complete idiot I was beginning to think you were."

"Thanks!"

"Alright in that case, where do you want to go? Have you thought about what kind of Pokémon you want to catch?"

"Eh, I don't really care. But whatever it'll be I know it'll be awesome!"

"Well am sure there are plenty of wild city Pokemon you could try to catch if we look about."

"Nah, let's leave the city, you may be okay here but my farm boy heart is craving some open air, stat!"

Arthur chuckles at that "Yes, okay but you still need to decide where to go."

"Uh, let's see." Alfred fishes his map back out of his bag to look over.

"Why are you still using that? You do know your Pokédex has a map built into it, right?"

"Really?" Switching the paper map for the dex Alfred messes about with the settings for a bit before Arthur gets annoyed and takes it from him. With a single button press he brings up the map.

"Here, see this is where we are," Arthur zooms the map in on Marcel City, "and this is where we came from." He says as he moves the map up to show route 2 and the Dark Woods. "If you want to leave, then we can take either Route 2 back to the Dark Woods or Route 19 down to the Vail Rock mountains."

"Definitely not the woods, I don't think I'm ready to be around that many ghosts again."

"Route 19 it is then." Arthur says as he starts heading off, handing Al back the dex. "And I'll have my cleanse tag back now. You won't need it if your actually _looking_ for Pokémon to run into." Alfred pulls the tag from his pocket and hands it back as asked, following after his travel partner.

"I don't get it. How come you're so much better at all of this than me? You know where to find the Pokémon center, what supplies to buy, how to challenge a _gym_ , you even know how to work the Pokédex better than me! I mean what gives? Did you read some sort of manual or something?" Al questions as they walk.

"Well, I am older, so of course I would know more than you." Arthur smugly says, preening from the praise. "That, and I'm not an idiot."

"Hey! Come on, there's gotta be more to it than that. There's something your not telling me isn't there?" Al asks suspiciously.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Arthur casually replies.

Alfred narrows his eyes at his travel companion "There is. And I'm gonna find out what." He promises.

"You do that."

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

Once outside the city Alfred spreads his arms wide and takes a deep breath of the clean air.

"Man, this is so much better than any city."

"It is nice, I'll admit, but I still prefer to be near at least some form of civilisation." Arthur comments from his side.

Al smiles wide, "Yeah, but in a city I can't let Bouffy out much, but I can here!" as he releases his Pokemon.

"Bouff!" It cries, and much like it's trainer, shows it's delight at being out in the open by running in a circle around the pair.

"Hm, well if your letting Bouffy out, then nows the perfect time for you to get better around ghost types. Don't worry," Arthur says as Al stares at him a bit fearfully "I'll just let the one out for now and switch between them every once and a while."

"O-okay." Al nods, one should be fine. He's still a bit jumpy around the idea but he thinks he's getting better. But this'll be the longest he's been around them if Arthur plans to let them out for most of the day. Conditioning him to their presence, that's what Arthur said he would do to help him and so far Al thinks it's working. He's drawn out of his musings by Arthur releasing his Pokemon.

"La?" Lampent asks looking around.

"Huh, I would have thought you'd let Pumpkaboo out first."

"You're getting better around her but you also need to be around different ghost Pokemon or you'll only ever be fine around Pumpkin." Arthur explains smiling slightly at his Pokemon. "Beside, there's no one around so Torch should be much more relaxed."

Looking over at the ghost Pokemon, Alfred can't help but agree. Lampent is no longer cowering behind his trainer but floating happily out ahead viewing the grassy field. In the near distance Alfred can see the mountain range up ahead.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"So, question." Arthur says some time into walking. "You've never seen an Audino before but you weren't surprised by Yao's Riolu?"

"Nah, I mean I haven't seen every Pokemon, who has?" Al jokes as Arthur nods in agreement, "But like I said before, I've been to a few festivals so I've seen a lot. I saw a Riolu for the first time last year at our farms harvest festival."

"I see- Wait!" Arthur suddenly stops.

"What?"

"Over there, there's a Paras sitting on that rock, see?" Arthur points into the grass a few feet on front of them. Following his line of sight, Alfred sees the Pokemon, asleep and soaking up the earlier morning rays.

"Alright, time to catch me a Paras! Bouffy, go stomp that Paras!”

"Boo!" Obeying, Bouffalant heads into the grass and rears up to stomp the sleeping Pokémon. Or so it seemed, for as soon as Bouffy begins to attack it jumps up and releases its spores, instantly putting Bouffy to sleep.

"Parassssss!" It hisses as it runs off.

"Aww." Al cries as the Pokemon disappears, going over to Bouffy's side. "Bouffy?"

"Well that was a valiant first attempt." Arthur comments as he comes over to the pair.

"Yeah But now Bouffy won't wake up."

"Here, feed him this." Arthur says as he hands Al a berry.

"It's a Chesto berry, it'll wake him up." He explains.

"Okay, here you go Bouffy eat up." Al says as he opens his Pokemon's mouth and pushes the berry in. The effect is instantaneous, Bouffalant awakes as soon as the berry enters its mouth.

"Good, now that that's sorted, let's keep going shall we?"

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

Several hours later, and numerous failed attempts at catching a number of different grassland Pokemon, they reach the base of the mountains.

"Maybe grass type Pokémon aren't your thing." Arthur had joked along the way after Al's third failed attempt in a row to catch a grass type Pokémon. "Maybe you'll have more luck with the rock types here." He says as they arrive at the foot of the mountain range.

"Maybe." Alfred had long since recalled Bouffy, wanting to conserve his Pokemon's energy for battling. Arthur had since switched his Pokemon to Casper, the Misdreavus finding every failed attempt hilarious. This only served to make him more annoyed but at the same time strangely more comfortable with the ghost Pokemon, now almost expecting to hear its laughter.

Now they stood upon a rocky ridge a few meters above the mountain base, eyes pealed for any hiding Pokémon.

"There!" Alfred calls as he sees the rocky body of a Pokemon atop an outcropping. "Bouffy, Horn Attack!" He calls as he sends his partner out once more.

"Boouuff!" It cries as it charges for the rock Pokemon, landing a solid hit.

"Oooonnnniiiixxx!" The Pokemon grumbles as it uncurls and rises to its full height.

"Alfred you idiot! That's an Onix!" Arthur calls from behind.

"So it's big? I'm still gonna catch it! Bouffy!"

"Boo!" His Pokemon replies.

"Lear, then Rage!" Quick to comply, Bouffalant lowers the rock Pokemon's Defense then launches in to attack.

"Oooooonnnn!" The Onix, angry at being attacked, twists and grabs Bouffy with its tail, constricting it in a tight Bind. Bouffy struggles to free itself but to no avail.

"Bouffy!" Trapped, Bouffalant is helpless as Onix brings its tail down, smashing Bouffy into the rocks with a strong Slam.

"You _see_?! This is why you _don't_ piss off an _Onix_!" Arthur complains beside him. "There's know way you can catch it on your own. Casper, Psywave! Aim for it's head!" Arthur calls. As much as Alfred is annoyed by Arthur's lack of faith in his abilities he's glad for the assist.

Casper moves up into the air above the Onix.

"Mis! Dreavus!" It cries as it opens its mouth aiming waves of psychic energy down at the Onixs head.

"Ooooonnn!" It grumbles the attack only serving to annoy it further as it releases Bouffalant and forms a large boulder by its tail. Grabbing the rock it swings its tail, lunching it's Rock Throw straight at Misdreavus.

"Casper, dodge!" Arthur calls and, despite the battle, Misdreavus laughs as it descends out of the way, easily avoiding the projectile.

"Bouffy, Horn Attack!"

"Casper, Astonish!" The pair call at the same time both Pokemon quick to react. Casper as the fastest of the three is the first to attack.

"Mis, mis-dreeEE!" It cries, letting out waves of ghost power and sending chills down Alfred's spine as the first ghost type attack he's seen Arthur use. The attack hit's and the Onix flinches away from the cry. Bouffy seeing the opening, lands it's Horn Attack on the flinching Onix. Things are going well for the pair when something unexpected happens. Seemingly out of nowhere a rufflet appears. Coming from the direction the missed Rock Throw had landed, Arthur notes, as the bird Pokémon begins relentlessly pecking the Onix on the head, angry cries punctuating it's attack.

"Ruf! Ruff, Ru!" Obviously annoyed at being ganged up on the Onix let's out a low rumble.

"Oooonnn." Before turning and burrowing under ground. The sounds of digging becoming more distant the longer they stand about.

The shocked silence is broken by Casper's laughter, snickering at the poor Onix.

"Missss, missss."

"Bou?" Bouffalant voices it's surprise. Al and Arthur look to each other equally surprised and confused before looking back to the Rufflet. The bird had since landed and was now happily preening itself, looking mighty smug at having seen off the Onix, a rare feat for a flying type Pokémon.

"Artie? Arthur! I know what Pokémon I want." He says still looking up at the bird. "I'm gonna catch that bird, whatever it is."

"It's a Rufflet." Arthur offers to Al's lack of knowledge.

"Bouffy? Let's catch that Rufflet!" He calls to his Pokemon, gaining the birds attention in the process.

"Ru?"

"Bouffy Horn Att- Hey Wait!" Just as he is giving his order the Rufflet takes off into the air and starts to fly away. "Come back here!" Alfred gives chase, Bouffalant right by his side and Arthur following on behind, with the ever amused Casper casually floating along.

"Come _on_ , stop _already_!" Al calls after the bird but Rufflet shows no sign of listening. Just as they are about to reach the edge of the rocks he hears Arthur call out behind him.

" _Oh_ _, enough of this!_ Casper, Mean Look!"

"Misss." The Pokemon answers as its eyes glow, the surrounding area quickly darkening to that of night, multiple eyes opening in all directions looking at Rufflet, before fading away back into day just as quickly.

As Rufflet tries to fly away the eyes return, blocking its path. Realising it's trapped the Pokemon turns to the pair and let's out an angry cry.

"Ruf! Ruff!"

"There," Arthur says as he rejoins Al's side. "No more running away. It's all yours." He waves as he steps back. Al looks over to the bird Pokemon, now perched on the edge of the rocks.

"Alright, Rufflet, I'm gonna catch you!" The Pokemon tilts it's head at this and hops down to the rocks on front of Alfred and Bouffalant. "Alright, here we go. Bouffy, Rage!"

"Boouu." Bouffy charges forward as the Rufflet turns to see it's attacker. It takes to the air before coming down to launch a Peck on it's attacker. Anticipating the move Bouffy takes the hit to the head, raising his Attack, and strikes back with the Rage. The Rufflet is sent backwards into the rocks and lands on the ground.

"Ru..."

"Alright, here goes!" Alfred shouts as he throws his pokeball at the downed bird. Hitting it's target, Rufflet is pulled inside and the ball drops to the ground, central light red and ball shaking. One... two... three... shakes and the ball stills, the red light fades and all is still.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Arthur chuckles, beside Alfred once more, at his shocked face.

"I... I did it?" He asks looking to Arthur then back to the still ball. Walking over slowly and picking it up, still not believing it.

"Hehe... Hahaha! Yes! Look Bouffy! Our first catch! I caught Rufflet!" Alfred cheers as the knowledge of his success sinks in. However his celebrating stops short as the ball bursts open and Rufflet comes out to sit upon the rocks and look around, seemingly completely unfazed.

"Wha? But, but I caught you!" Al cries looking to Arthur for help "Right?" Chuckling Arthur nods.

"Yes, you caught it."

"But then? How?"

"Pokemon can come out of their balls if they want. Seems Rufflet here is one for liking it's freedom."

"Freedom huh?" Al tilts his head at that, thinking.

"Well now that you have it, check out what the Pokédex has to say on it."

"Oh, right." Pulling the dex out and pointing the camera at Rufflet, Al reads the entry:

_Rufflet_ _, The eaglet Pokemo_ __n._ _ __They will challenge anything, even strong opponents, without fear. They crush berries with their talons._ _

"Check the entry for yours." Arthur advises and Alfred switches to the data sheet for his newly caught Pokémon and reads:

_Rufflet_ _, male._

_Ability_ _: Sheer Force_

_Known_ _attacks: Lear, Peck, Fury Attack, Wing Attack._

"So you're a boy huh? I think I'll call you Freedom, how about that? Or Ruffy?"

"Ru!" The Pokemon cries happily at both.

"Okay, both then," Al laughs, "welcome to the Team, Freedom!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you have it, Alfred's new Pokemon, is a Rufflet. For those who don't know, Rufflet evolves into Braviary which is like, the most American pokemon there is, it's basically 'Murica eagle! So of course I had to give him one. As you can probably tell, I'm trying to keep the Pokemon each character has related in some way to them, that's not to say there won't be some that don't relate but for the most part they will.
> 
> And you get to see Arthur battling a bit. Honestly I think Misdreavus is becoming my fave to write. Casper is just so fun, nothing fazes him and everyone's fails are his amusement.
> 
> Till next time, stay awesome!


	9. Training! Wait, what‘s on TV?

"There, all done." Arthur says as he packs away the medicines, Casper and Ruffy both happily flying about above their trainers. After Rufflet's successful capture he had offered to treat Bouffalant and Rufflet's injuries from battle. Alfred readily agreed, allowing him to tend to the Pokemon while he watched. Alfred had never been the best at tending to wounds, that had always been Mattie's specialty and with the farms clinic, there was never much need to learn. But now that he's traveling, he's beginning to see just how much he relied on his home and now, here he is, relying on Arthur instead.

"Hey, un, Arthur?"

"Hmm?" He asks, finishing up repacking and turning to Alfred questioningly.

"Could you maybe, uh, teach me how to tend to Pokémon like that?" Arthur blinks at that, not expecting the request. "It's just so unfair! You know everything! I feel like I'm not learning anything from always relying on you like this." Al huffs, letting out his frustrations. He doesn't know if he should feel insulted or surprised when Arthur starts to laugh.

"Honestly Alfred, you can be so silly sometimes."

"Wha? But I'm serious here!" Arthur continues laughing as he tries to speak.

"I know, that's why it's so funny!" He gasps, getting a hold of his laughter and calms as he reassures his travel partner. "Your learning plenty Al, just look how far you've come in little over a week." He watches Al as he processes this. "Just take a look at yourself." Confused Alfred looks down at himself but can't see anything different.

"What? I don't look any different."

"No, idiot. I meant look at how you _are_ , right now." As Al still looked confused, Arthur rolled his eyes and sighs. "Alfred, who is beside me?"

"Uh, Casper, duh." Alfred's not sure where Arthur is going with this but decides to humour him.

"Yes, and what are you not doing that a weak ago you would be?" Arthur looks expectingly at him as Al finally realises what Arthur is getting at.

"Oh!"

"Finally." Arthur jokes as Al turns to stare at Casper. He's not scared, not even a little. He tries searching for a glimmer of fear but, nothing. He, Alfred F. Jones, is not _scared_ of a ghost Pokemon!

"Whaaa!" He can't help it, his mouth hangs open as he gawks. Casper turns to look at him and tilts it's head, before laughing at Al's face, Ruffy looking at it's trainer in confusion. Switching between Pokemon and trainer Alfred waves his hands and squeaks out unintelligible sounds at the pair. Rufflet seems to take this as an invitation to land on it's trainers head, finding it the perfect perch.

"Hehe, yes. So you finally noticed hmm?" Arthur looks quite pleased with Al's loss of his ability to function at the revelation.

Finally he gets himself under control enough to ask "How? What witchcraft is this? What did you do to me Artie?!"

"Arthur!" The man snaps reflexively, "and I didn't do anything, this is all you."

"But how? When?"

"Well, while I can't be certain, I do believe it was during the battle. You seemed to forget about your fear to fight along side Casper. Seems despite yourself, you've managed to bond a bit with Casper here. At least enough to not be scared with him around anymore. If you ask me, I'd say that's quite the improvement for just one week." Huh, now that he thinks about it, Arthur's right, he didn't care that Casper was a ghost type when they fought together, only focused on beating the Onix.

" yeah, guess your right."

"Don't worry so much, no one expects you to learn everything about being a trainer or traveling straight away, I know I don't. It may surprise you Alfred, but I wan't exactly an expert when I started out either."

"Really?" Honestly Alfred was beginning to think that Arthur had been born with all this knowledge that he seems to lack.

"Yes, really."

"Oh."

"But that's not to say there isn't still things you can't do right now to grow."

"Like what?"

"Like, say have a battle with Rufflet. You two need to be ready for your rematch." That's right! In all the excitement he forgot he still needs to train, Yao won't be so easy to beat with only just catching Ruffy, he needed to train. Looking to Misdreavus, Al knows who he want's to battle first.

"Hey Arthur, will you battle me with Casper?"

"Are you sure?" Arthur doesn't look too convinced by the idea though Al can't figure out why.

"Yup, I can get more used to Casper by battling him and train Freedom at the same time, two birds with one stone!"

"Well alright, if you're sure. Casper?" He asks turning to his Pokemon. The Misdreavus circles his head, seeming not to have a care in the world. "Heh, Okay then Alfred, we accept your challenge." Arthur says with a glint in his eyes.

"Sweet!"

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Ready Ruffy?" Al asks his Pokemon still atop his head. The pair stand across from Arthur and Casper, Misdreavus looping in the air happily out front waiting to begin.

"Ruff!" The bird cries as it flies down to the grass facing their opponents, ready to fight.

"Ready?" Al calls across the field.

"Whenever you are." Arthur calls back.

"Alright then we'll start! Freedom, Peck!"

"Ru!" Rufflet cries, flying up and heading straight for Casper.

"Ready Casper?"

"Mis." The Pokemon replies pausing in the air and watching as Rufflet approaches.

"Get 'em Ruffy!" Al calls encouragingly.

"Casper, dodge and use Psywave." Arthur calmly calls. At first it appears Misdreavus has ignored him, but just before Ruffy can land it's attack, Casper gracefully drops down and loops back up behind Rufflet.

"Misss!" It cries as it launches the Psywave, a direct hit.

"Ruuuu!" Rufflet cries as it's hit, dropping to the ground but catching itself before making contact and flies back up.

"Okay, then let's try a Wing Attack!" Al calls. Both trainers know they're limited in the moves they can use, ghost and normal type attacks are out of the question here. This battle won't be won by attack power, but rather by the trainers skill. Really this is a smart move to make for both of them, this battle will help to build the bond between them and their Pokémon. Whoever can understand their Pokémon best will win this.

And this time, it seems that accolade goes to Arthur.

"Casper, now!" He calls before Rufflet can even begin its attack. Alfred stares as one second Misdreavus is visible, the next gone.

"Wha?" Before Al can formulate a plan, Casper reappears directly above Rufflet.

"Missssdreeee!" It cries as it fires a massive Psywave straight down on Rufflet.

"Ruffy!"

"Ruuu..." The Pokemon cries as it's hit, the force strong enough to slam it into the ground below. Even if Al had been quick enough to react, there was no way they could have dodged, blocked from above like that. This time Ruffy doesn't get back up.

"Sorry, Al, but looks like we win this one." Arthur says looking quite pleased.

"Sorry Ruffy," Alfred apologised to his Pokemon as he picks it up.

"Here, let me." Arthur says as he sets to treating the bird.

"How did you do that?"

"Hmm?"

"You know, how'd Casper disappear like that?"

"Hehe, he's a ghost Al, they can do that. That's just a quirk of their type." He explains as he finishes up with Rufflet. Jumping back up into the air the Pokemon lets out a string of angry cries at Casper.

"Ru, ru, ruff!" Flapping its wings to punctuate its annoyance.

"Hehe, looks like someone doesn't like losing." Arthur chuckles at the birds antics, Casper joining in only serving to further annoy the bird Pokemon.

"Hehe, well that makes two of us. Don't worry Ruffy, we'll get them back, just you wait."

"We look forward to it." Arthur smiles.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

Returning to the Pokemon center, Alfred trains both his Pokemon for the next three days, challenging numerous trainers to friendly matches and improving his skills. After a day of training Al returns to their room, Bouffy happily snug in his ball while Ruffy continues to use his head as a perch. When he reaches the door he can hear Arthur shouting profanities at the T.V.

"Uh, what's up?" He asks as he enters.

"Are you seeing this?!" He fumes waving the remote at the screen. Looking to the T.V Al can see a Pokemon contest is being shown.

"You watching a contest?"

"I would be if it weren't for that stupid frog always hogging the camera! It's a _Pokemon_ contest, not a fashion show!" Arthur continues to rage. Confused Al watches the show to try to understand what has his friend so riled up.

On screen a young man with shoulder length blond hair twirls on front of the camera, flourishing out a hand and bowing slightly, as he sends out his Pokemon from behind his back. Alfred doesn't really have an eye for fashion but even he can tell that the trainers clothes are definitely high end, he's pretty sure that that's a silk cape. Alfred now understands the nickname, as the man's Pokemon is a very well groomed Politoed.

" _Tarpaud_ _, Water Sport into Bubble._ " The man calls in a light accent. The Pokemon moves gracefully across the stage, spouting a spray of water high into the air across the whole area, before switching into launching the biggest bubbles Al has ever seen. The falling water glistens off of the bubbles giving the whole stage the look and feel of and underwater palace. The crowd cheer loudly, completely mesmerised by the simple yet utterly beautiful display. Even for a T.V screen Al can see why everyone is so in love. Everyone that is, apart from Arthur.

"Oh, come on!" He near screams at the T.V, arms waving. "That wasn't even any good!"

On screen the judges are giving there results. It's full marks.

"Noooo! No! You can't be serious!" Now he _is_ screaming. And Al watches with a strange sense of amusement at Arthur's unreasonable rage over the show.

" _Truly_ _, Francis you and your Pokemon are once again the epitome of what it means to be a Pokemon Contest king._ " The head judge says as the trainer Francis is crowned the winner of the Master contest. Now that he hears the name, Al thinks he can remember his mom talking about a contest king called Francis. Usually he would find an excuse to leave the room whenever she got like that, having no interest in the show, or his moms not so secret crush.

"Aaarrrggghhh!" Well, Arthur seems to have lost his mind, standing on his bed and stomping his feet like a child having a temper tantrum. Al decides to rescue the remote from the bed before it got broke and switched to the news.

_"We're here at the sight of the Avsel ruins, where a recent string of break-ins to the restricted cave system has taken place. With me is Professor Sadık Adnan of Madora City University. Professor, tell us, why would anyone want to break into the caves?"_

_"Well a number of ancient artefacts are still being studied in the caves. It's possible that the crooks were hoping to steal something of value or they may have been after something specific. Sadly we may never know what they took as the caves and their contents are still being archived, if they took something that was yet to be recorded then we may never know."_

_"Thank you Professor. Whoever these criminals are, one thing is clear, today we may have lost an invaluable piece of history for both Avsel lake and the Eprus region as a whole. That's all the time we have for today, remember everyone please remain vigilant for these criminals. And now the weather..."_

"More thefts?" Arthur asks, now having calmed and lying on his stomach, socked feet on his pillow and watching the T.V.

"Yeah, seams like it."

"Urgh, asses. They should be more respectful of the history of things." Arthur groans as he drops his head onto the sheets.

"Mmh." Al hums in agreement as he switches the screen off and lies back, Ruffy flying off his head to perch on the desk chair instead.

"I just hope they didn't get anything important." Arthur's muffled voice reaches him.

"Same."

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

...

...

... _CLICK_ _._

_"_ _Well_ _?"_

_"_ _We_ _got it."_

_"_ _Good_ _."_

_._ _.._

_._ _.._

_..._ _CLICK_ _._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some training before Al's rematch which Yao. And France joins the cast as a The returning Pokemon contest king. Of course I had to give him a frog Pokemon and what better one that a Politoed? Or as Francis says Tarpaud which is just the French name for the Pokemon. And hey is that plot I see?
> 
> For those interested I've drawn the dinner scene form chapter 7 on my tumblr.
> 
> Till next time, the rematch for the first badge!
> 
> Review are always nice, stay awesome everyone!


	10. Time for a rematch!

" **Yao! I'm baaaaack!** " Alfred calls out across the gym, eagerly waiting for the Gym leader to show, Rufflet sitting on his head and taking in the gym.

"Ayia! You're still so _loud_!" Yao complained, coming out onto the field to meet his challenger once more. Yong Soo not far behind waves to the pair as he takes his position as referee. "So, you're ready to challenge me again?" Yao asks as he moves into position, noting the bird Pokemon with Alfred.

"Yup, just you wait. I'm gonna blow you away!" Alfred proclaims loudly. Behind him Arthur gives Yao a cold glare as he moves to sit and watch, Yao just smirks at him.

Al is oblivious to the tension between them as he lifts Ruffy off of him and turns him around to talk too.

"Alright Freedom, this'll be our first gym battle but I know you'll rock!"

"Ru!" The Pokemon cheers, pleased with the praise.

"Alright, two on two, no time limit, yada yada, you know the drill. Ready? Start!" Yong Soo calls without waiting for an answer.

"How many times do I have to tell you to do your job right!" Yao scolds before sighing and shaking his head. "Whatever, here's my first Pokemon." He continues as he tosses a ball into the air.

"Ty!" The Pokemon cries once out, fists raised in front of its body.

"Huh, not Riolu?" Al asks confused.

"It's my job a a gym leader to test you, it wouldn't be much of a test if I did the exact same as before now would it."

"Oh." Al says as he pulls his Pokédex out, pointing it at the Pokemon, he's never seen this one before.

" _Tyrogue_ _, The scuffle Pokemo_ _ _n. It is always bursting with energy. When raising this Pokémon, the Trainer must establish and uphold various training methods.__ "

"A Tyrogue, huh? Cool! Alright Freedom, time to shine!" Al calls as he sends the bird out onto the field, the wall screen once again lighting up to display the health of the combatants. The Tyrogue bounces on its toes as it's eyes follow Rufflet's movements. "Ruffy, Peck, Go!" He adds, starting the battle.

"Tyrogue, Fake Out." Yao calls and the Pokemon moves with speed across the field, reaching Rufflet in a matter of seconds, clapping its hands right in front of the birds face. Surprised, Ruffy flinches back as the Tyrogue brings it's right leg up to deliver a blow to the stunned bird. Knocked back by the hit, Ruffy takes to the air to get away from it's grounded opponent, as the Tyrogue jumps back to create more distance between the two.

"Ruffy, get in close and use Fury Attack!" Al calls. ' _If_ _we_ _can just get past it's defences, then I know we can beat it._ '

Complying with the command, Rufflet circles around the Tyrogue before dropping down to unleash a rapid succession of hits. With each hit the wall screen shows a steady decline in Tyrogue's health.

"Tyyyy..." The Pokemon cries as it is hit, covering its head with its arms to block the attacks.

"Tyrogue! Bulk up, now!" Yao shouts and the Pokemon obeys, glowing with power as like with the Riolu from before, it's Attack and Defense rise.

"Uh, quick Ruffy! Get away!" Al calls, knowing what Yao plans to do next. Backing off Rufflet flies back up into the air a safe distance away. If Alfred had looked, he would have seen Arthur nodding approvingly at the decision.

' _I'll_ _admit, Alfred may not look it, but he's a very skilled trainer. To have learnt from his previous loss and build upon that the skills needed to win, that is the mark of a true trainer._ ' Arthur confides within the safe confines of his mind.

"Smart," Yao unknowingly agrees with Arthur's thoughts, "so it seems you've learned to be more cautious in battle. Good. But will it be enough for you to win?" He asks before returning to the battle at hand. "Tyrogue, Mach Punch!"

"Tyyy!"

"Ruffy, dodge!" Al calls as the Tyrogue pulls its right arm back, fist shrouded in power, before jumping high into the air at Rufflet and punching. Rufflet spins to the left to dodge the attack but is clipped on the wing.

"Ruu!" It cries from the glancing blow.

"Ruffy, quick use Wing Attack! I know you can do it!" Al calls up to his Pokemon. Despite the previous hit, Rufflet is quick to take action. Both Pokemon and trainer in sync as they see the opening, Tyrogue cannot dodge in mid air.

"Ru, Rufflet!"

"Ty!" Descending at speed, wing glowing with power, Rufflet strikes the fighting Pokemon in the chest with a solid Wing Attack. The hit increasing Tyrogue's descent, causing the Pokemon to slam back into the ground. Looking to the screen Alfred happily watches as the Pokemon's health drops down to below half.

"Tyrogue, Bulk Up again!" Yao calls as his Pokemon struggles to its feet.

"Quick, Ruffy Wing Attack again!" Al cries hoping to hit before his opponent can get of another boost.

"T.. Tyrogue!" It cries stats increasing once more as Rufflet quickly descends for another attack.

"Now, use Endure and grab Rufflet!" Yao calls as the Pokemon nears. Just as he planned, Tyrogue glows as it takes to hit, health dropping down to red, and grabs hold of Rufflet by the wing.

"Mach Punch." He orders and his Pokemon launches the attack at point blank range.

"Ruuuuu!"

"Ruffy!" Al calls and hoping their training payed of adds "Peck!"

"Ru!" The bird replies as it's beak glows, striking the Tyrogue hard on the head.

"T-tyyy..." The fighting pokemon grunts as it collapses to the ground, releasing Rufflet.

"Tyrogue is no longer able to battle, Rufflet wins!" Yong Soo calls ending the first battle.

"Wha? Yes! Alright! Way to go Freedom!" Alfred cheers, celebrating the win.

"Not bad," Yao complements as he recalls his Pokemon. "But this battle is far from over. Now, how will you fair against this one?" He asks as he sends out his next Pokémon.

"Meeediii!" It cries once out.

"That's a Meditite, right?" Al asks as he uses his dex again to confirm his suspicions.

" _Meditite_ _, The meditate Pokemon. Meditite heightens its inner energy through meditation._ _ _It eats just one berry a day. By enduring hunger, its spirit is tempered and made sharper.__ "

"So what will you do now?" Yao asks as he puts the dex away. Looking to the screen Alfred can see Rufflet is just below half health.

"Freedom, return." He calls. Looking back Rufflet tilts its head before flying back to its trainers side. "You can have a rest, Bouffy'll take it from here. Bouffy time to shine!" Al says as he tosses his pokeball up sending his Bouffalant out to battle.

"Boouu!" It huffs, ready to fight.

"It may not be the Riolu from before but we won't let Yao win this time."

"Both trainers ready?" Yong Soo asks receiving nods from both he continues "Battle, start!"

"Bouffy, Lear!" Al calls, deciding to start on the defensive.

"Meditite, confusion." Yao calmly commands.

As Bouffalant fixes the Meditite with a Lear, lowering it's Defense, the Pokemon floats off the ground and stretches its arms out front, releasing psychic energy at its opponent.

"Booo!" Bouffalant cries as it's hit, shaking it's head to clear it from the attack.

"You got this Bouffy, Horn Attack!"

"Boouuu!" The Pokemon cries as it charges at it's opponent.

"Meditite, Bulk Up then Bide!" Yao calls to his Pokemon.

As Bouffy charges in for the attack, Meditite powers up the same as the Tyrogue before had. Just as Bouffalant reaches it the fighting type Pokémon switches into bide, tensing it's body and taking the hit as it's knocked back.

' _Crap_ _, we gotta finish this before it can fight back!_ ' "Bouffy, your strongest Stomp, go!" Al calls hoping to end the battle quickly.

Obeying, Bouffalant brings it's entire weight down on the waiting pokemon in the most powerful Stomp it can muster. Looking to the screen Al sees that Meditite's health drops to the yellow but remains standing (or rather floating crossed legged).

"Now, Meditite." Yao says, confidence filling his voice.

"Bouffy, dodge!" Al calls but is not fast enough.

"Meeeeeddiiiii!" It calls as it stretches its limbs out releasing a wave of energy, twice as strong as the combinative power of both of Bouffalant's previous attacks. Unable to dodge the all encompassing attack, Bouffy is struck, reeling backwards but remains standing.

"Bouffy, Rage!" Al calls and his Pokemon complies.

"Meditite, Confusion again." The wave hits as Bouffy charges forwards, attack landing, but something is wrong. Bouffy shakes his head looking around and turns away from the Meditite.

"Bouffy? Oh, no." Al says as he realises what's happened, the Confusion has confused his Pokemon.

"Come on, Bouffy listen to my voice! Aim for the Meditite and use Rage!" Alfred hopes he can get through to his partner.

"I'm afraid that's not going to work," Yao says as he watches the confused Pokemon huff before charging at the wall.

"Ah! Bouffy no, not that way!" Al calls helpless but to watch, as his Pokemon runs head first into the wall causing damage to itself. "Bouffy, return!" He says as he recalls his Pokemon back into its ball.

"Smart, rather than continue to risk the confusion you chose to switch out." Yao nods approvingly as Alfred looks to Rufflet.

"Alright, Freedom looks like you're back up."

"Ru? Ruff!" It cheers at the chance to get back out.

"Ready? Start!" The call from the teen referee reinitiates the battle.

"Let's win this! Ruffy, Wing Attack!"

"Wait for the moment, then Force palm."

Diving down with renewed energy from the break, Rufflet's wing strikes the out stretched arms of the Meditite. Taking the hit, health dropping further, Meditite flattens it's hand on Rufflet's wing and releases the energy of the Force palm. Sending the Pokemon flying backwards.

"Ruuu..." Rufflet whines as it rolls across the field, health dropping into the red.

"Ruffy! Damn that was a strong hit."

"R-ruu..." It groans as it gets back up, spreading its wings out. "Ru,Rufflet ru!" It cries out to show it's still able to fight.

"Alright Ruffy!" Al cheers at his Pokemon's sprite. "Fly up and use Leer."

"Ru!" Doing as told Meditite's Defense is lowered again.

"Meditite, Confusion!"

"Meeeee!"

"Ruffy, Wing Attack!"

Both make their move, Rufflet diving down to strike as the psychic power is released. Spinning as before, Rufflet rotates out of harms way while maintaining speed and ready to land the hit.

"Dodge!" Yao calls and the Meditite pushes itself back away from the attack mere moments before contact. Quickly pulling up to avoid hitting the ground, Yao takes advantage of Rufflet's opening

"Confusion, now!"

Still pulling out of the dive and unable to dodge Rufflet is hit with the wave.

"Ruuu..." It cries as it falls to the ground.

"Rufflet is no longer able to battle, Meditite wins!" The teen calls from the side once more.

"Ruffy, no..." Alfred pleas, seeing his Pokemon defeated. Pulling his pokeball out Alfred recalls the bird. "Don't worry, I'll make sure we win this for all the hard work you did." With that he sends Bouffalant back out, no longer confused.

"Alright, Bouffy, Freedom did his best, but now it's down to us to win this."

"Booufff!"

"Ready? Start!" The call is given and battle recommences.

"Bouffy, Rage, go!"

"Bide!"

Once more the two are locked in combat, Meditite taking the hit, health dropping into the red.

"Let's finish this! Bouffy, Stomp!"

"Boooouuuu!" His Pokemon cries, attacking. Bouffalant's hoof comes down and the Meditite is pinned below, unmoving.

"Meditite is no longer able to battle, Bouffalant wins! The victory goes to the challenger!" Yong Soo shouts, all too happy from his position.

"Wha? We really..." Al gapes for a moment before jumping about in celebration, running up to hug Bouffalant. "We did it Bouffy! We beat the gym!"

"Booouuu!" His Pokemon cheers along side him, nudging Al with its head and huffing warm air in his face. Al turns around when he hears clapping, Yao has recalled his Pokemon and is smiling at him, clapping softly.

"Very well done, an excellent match." He says as he walks over to join Alfred in the middle of the field. "It has been a while since I've had such an exhilarating battle from a challenger."

"Thanks!"

"Now, as proof of your victory and recognition of your skills, I present you with the Strike Badge." Yao says as he waves to Yong Soo to come over, now carrying a carved wooden block. In the centre of the piece is a single badge. "It is yours."

"Sweet! Look Bouffy, our first badge! Arthur look!" Al cheers spinning to show his friend. Arthur nods as he comes over to join the group, sending a glare Yao's way.

"Congratulations, seems you might just be a decent trainer yet." He jokes.

"Hehe, yeah thanks, glad for the support."

"What is next for you?" Yao suddenly asks.

"Oh, uh, guess I haven't decided yet, the next gym I guess." Al answers a bit unsure of himself.

"Hmm, in that case may I recommend the Terra Gorge National Park? You may find many rare Pokémon living there to add to your team. And the gym leader there is quite the interesting person, I think you would get along with her quite well."

"Alright the National Park it is!" Al readily agrees.

Nodding Yao bids them good bye.

"May you have safe travels, young trainers." He says as both he and Yong Soo bow to the pair.

"Thanks, come on Artie let's go!"

"How many times?! It's Arthur!" Alfred recalls Bouffy, running out of the gym laughing, as Arthur chases after him.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"So," Yong Soo says once they're gone "he's really one of the Kirkland brothers?"

"Yes."

"Then what's he doing here?"

"You still have much to learn Yong Soo. Sometimes you have to do your own thing, even if that means going against the grain, to find out who you really are inside."

"Eh? I don't get it." The teen complains as his teacher smiles softly towards the door.

"Hehe, no I suppose you don't. Do not worry too much, I think the time is coming for the rebel son to return home soon."

"Whatever you say teach."

"Come, let us have some tea." The pair walk back inside together, a day well done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *celebratory clapping* way to go Alfred, 1 down, 7 to go. And hey look, a full chapter of battling. And south Korea returns as Ref for the battle.
> 
> Till next time, stay awesome!


	11. Thoughts of the past

_"_ _Now_ _watch closely Artie."_

_"_ _Uh_ _, huh." Arthur nods his head quickly, watching his older brother with rapt attention._

_"_ _Heh_ _, Haunter, Shadow Punch."_

_"_ _Hauuun_ _." Arthur watched as his brothers Pokemon destroyed the training dummy in one hit._

_"_ _Whoa_ _!" He couldn't help but gasp, his brother was such a strong trainer, he couldn't wait till he was old enough to get his own Pokémon!_

_"_ _Very_ _well done son." Their father says, coming into the training room before he turns to Arthur and frowns._

_"_ _Arthur_ _, what have I told you about coming in here? Your not old enough." He says disapprovingly._

_"_ _But_ _! I just want'd to watch Aly!" He protested._

_"_ _And_ _Alistair, you should know better than to let him in, he could have gotten hurt."_

_"_ _Sorry_ _Dad." His brother shrugs._

_"_ _Now_ _come on Arthur, it's time for your lessons."_

_"_ _Yes_ _, Dad." He says as he follows him out, dragging his feet._

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

Arthur sits up in bed, awoken by the dream. The room is filled with darkness, the sun not yet risen. Looking over, he can see Alfred is still asleep, snoring loudly, Rufflet snuggled in beside him. Arthur sighs thinking of the dream, well, memory. ' _Why_ _did I have to dream about_ then _?_ ' He questions his mind grumpily, frowning.

Huffing he climbs out of bed. ' _I_ _need_ _a walk._ ' Quietly he grabs his pokéballs and leaves the room. As he walks to the elevators his mind wanders as well.

' _How_ _long has it been? Three, four? years since I ran away._ ' He shakes his head, entering the lift and pushing the button for the ground floor. ' _Ha_ _, to think, he ran all the way to Hoenn, to get away from anywhere were someone might know him or his family name._ ' Quietly he exits the elevator and heads out the back of the Pokemon center.

' _Honestly_ _, What had I been thinking? Leaving in the middle of the night with nothing but my bag and Pumpkin by my side._ ' Silently Arthur walks out onto the battle field behind the center.

' _It_ _was_ _a miracle I even managed to leave, damn Rhys for being himself.'_ He huffs at the memory of the night he left home.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

_"_ _Artie_ _? What are you doing?" Arthur froze, hand on the handle of the open front door, turning to look at his brother._

_"_ _Nothing_ _!" He says too quickly to be trusted. His brother looks him over, from the travel bag to the clothes he wore, and of course the pokeball clutched in his hand. All that along with catching him leaving the house in the dead of night, it was easy for his brother to tell what he was doing._

_"_ _Your_ _leaving." It wasn't a question. Frowning and suddenly feeling angry for being stopped just as he was about to disappear, Arthur snaps at his brother._

_"_ _Yeah_ _, so what? You gonna run and tell? Like all of you do?" He expects his brother to do just that, but instead he simply shakes his head. Looking at him with an unreadable expression, Rhys nods to the door._

_"_ _Go_ _."_

_"_ _What_ _?"_

_"_ _Go_ _, quick, before Dad finds out. I was never here, I never saw you. As far as Dad needs to know, you left without anyone noticing." Taken aback by this Arthur stares. Even after Peter was born he was always the butt of the joke to his older brothers. Nothing he did was up to their level, always going off on his own, never following the path left out for him by their families ancestors. Honestly, Arthur's not sure what he wants to do with his life, but he's sure he'll never know staying here. If he leaves, goes on a journey, even if it's against his fathers ruling, he_ knows _he'll_ _find out what it is he want's to really be._

_Maybe_ _that's why his brother is letting him go, maybe he thinks this too. Or maybe he just finally want's the problem child of the family gone, who knows._

_"_ _Thanks_ _." He says instead and, without looking back, leaves._

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

Thinking back, Arthur still doesn't know why his brother let him go. But then, that's Rhys for you, no one can ever tell what he's really thinking. Looking about, he sees the field is empty. Of course, it's still the middle of the night. He lets out a sigh as he pulls Pumpkaboo's pokeball from his pokeball belt.

' _"_ _I_ _don't know what you_ ** _think_** _you know, but I have no desire to go back home anytime soon."_ ' That's what he said but that's not true, after all that's why he came back to Eprus, isn't it? ' _To_ _come home._ ' Even just thinking it makes him tense with anxiety, the thought of seeing his family again, what will they say? His father will be furious with him for sure, his mother is probably worried sick. What about his brothers? Alistair, Reilley, Rhys, hell even Peter, what will they say if, or when he comes home?

Shaking his head Arthur looks forward. ' _I'm_ _thinking about this too much again._ ' Taking a breath, he lowers his hand with the pokeball. Looking up into the night sky, he can just about see the stars past the light pollution of the city. Suddenly the ball in his hand opens and Pumpkaboo comes out.

"Puuu?" She questions tiredly, a look of concern filling her face.

"Sorry girl, did I wake you?"

"Pum." She says shaking her head. Floating up she looks into her trainers eyes and smiles at him.

"Heh, yeah you always know how I'm feeling." Shaking his head clear of all thoughts of home, Arthur looks across the empty field. "What do you say girl? Care to let of some steam?"

"Pum!" His Pokemon cries, suddenly filled with energy.

"Alright, Good. Pumpkin, Shadow Ball."

"Pum, Pum!" Quick as always, his Pokemon obeys, forming and launching the energy filled ball out across the field. The attack flies into the ground at the other end and explodes. Both trainer and Pokemon satisfied with the small dent the attack left behind.

"Alright, now Razor Leaf!"

"Pumpka!" Summoning a barrage of leaves, the Pokemon launches them forward with enough force to stir the wind and blow Arthur's hair about. The leaves leaving tiny impact craters across the field.

"Now, Flame Charge!"

"Pum! Pum ka!" Encasing herself in fire, Arthur watches as his partner speeds across the battle field, growing faster from the Speed boost of the attack.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

By the time they finish the sky is beginning to lighten, not quite sunrise, but light enough to see the damage to the field clearly. Pits and craters of various sizes and depths, litter the area, marking the previously smooth surface.

Both trainer and Pokemon are comfortably tired from the activity and Arthur can now feel his mind calmed of the previous turmoil that plagued him.

"Oops, hehe, guess we might have gone a bit over board." He says, surveying the damage to the field.

"Pum..." Pumpkaboo voices, sounding slightly guilty.

"Well, I think that's enough for today, don't you?"

"Pum!" She nods happily to her trainer.

"Alright, let's go back to the room."

"Pumpka."

Walking back inside one of the Nurses waves to him.

"Feeling better?" She asks as the pair come over.

"Uh, yeah, thanks." Arthur says a bit sheepishly, scratching his cheek.

"Hehe, don't worry. It's not the first time a trainer has needed to let of some steam at night."

"Ah."

"Don't worry about the field either, we have the center Pokemon to help maintain it."

"Oh, you have construction work Pokémon at this center too? I thought they were mostly just leased out to places that needed them from the training centers?"

"Usually, but we have a trained Pokémon specifically for the field out back, saves having to always hire one each time the field is damaged."

"Hm, makes sense." He nods in understanding, at least his little night time training won't cause the center any extra hassle then. "Well, I think I'll head back to bed for a few hours."

"Have a nice rest." Nodding once more he takes his leave back to the room.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

Alfred is still asleep when he returns, none the wiser. Sighing Arthur climbs back into bed, Pumpkin joining him to snuggle up by his head. After all that he's not sure what he was so worried about. After all going back home is inevitable if he intends to stay with Alfred, and besides it's about time he did. Come what may, he's ready for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter this time from Arthur's perspective were nothing really happens. And of course some good old back story-ish flashback-y stuff.
> 
> Till next time, stay awesome!


	12. Making friends along the way

Sun shining, both trainers stood outside the Pokemon center, checked out and ready to hit the road again.

"Let's see." Alfred says as he pulls up the map on his Pokédex. "Looks like it'll be faster if we head out east and take Route 3 and 4 up to Kansa Village then Route 6 onto the National Park." He says as he scrolls around the map.

"You just want to avoid the Dark Woods again." Arthur accuses him.

" _No_! ...Okay, yeah. But why go back the way we came when we can go somewhere we've never been yet."

"Fair enough, I suppose." Arthur agrees. Really he doesn't mind which path they take, both will get them to the same place after all.

"Alright! Route 3 it is!" Al cheers as he leads the way.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

The grassy plains outside Marcel city begin to give way to sprinklings of trees the further they travel. Out in the open once more, both trainers have let all their Pokémon out for a short break.

"I must say, your doing much better after this morning." Arthur remarks as he watches Alfred sit a short distance away from his ghost Pokemon.

"Hey! That wasn't my fault! Pumpkin wasn't out when I went to sleep, how was I to know she came out so she could sleep in bed with you?" He tries to defend himself, after his embarrassment of screaming the center awake when he saw Pumpkaboo in Arthur's bed the moment he woke up. True he's getting better, he never imagined he'd be able to sit with 3 ghost Pokemon without breaking down, but here he is. But he still need's a warning and time to prepare himself before seeing them.

"I told you, she felt lonely and wanted to snuggle." Arthur shrugs.

As a gentle breeze blows through the air, the pair can here a distant call growing closer.

"Hooop. Hooppiiiiip."

"Hey What's that?" Al asks, pointing to a group of objects drifting closer in the sky.

"Looks like a group of Hoppip."

"Really?" He asks as he pulls his dex out. Aiming the device at the group as they pass over head.

_"_ _Hoppip_ _, The cottonweed Pokemon._ _This Pokémon drifts and floats with the wind. Its body is so light, it must grip the ground firmly with its feet to keep from being blown away._ _"_

"Hop, oppip!" The Pokemon happily cries as they drift and spin through the air.

"They must be heading for the mountain to prepare for winter." Arthur remarks as Al flops back in the grass to watch them pass.

"Ru, ru!" Rufflet cries as he flies up to meet the group.

"Hop!" They cheer as they spin around the bird Pokemon.

"Misss." Casper laughs as he too, flies up to join the party in the sky.

"Lamp..." Torch however, is less enthusiastic about the passing group, diving behind Arthur's cloak to peek out at the Pokemon.

"Pum..." Pumpkin sighs from where she sits beside her trainer.

"Bou?" Bouffy questions looking up to the group, then over to the cowering Lampent, tilting his head questioningly.

"Hehe, _man_ this is why I like the outdoors so much more than the city. Just look at how free they are! Wish I could float in the breeze like them." Al sighs as he watches the group leave.

"Hmm, it does sound nice." Arthur agrees. "Come on, let's get moving. It'll be a few days before we reach the next town."

"Right!" Al says as he jumps to his feet.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

Four days of walking, battling traveling trainers, training together and watching the local Pokémon -Alfred even tried to catch some to little success- they finally can see the next town up a head.

"Kansa Village, here we come!" Alfred cheers at the sight of the small town. Kansa Village, unlike Marcel city, is a mostly residential town. The village is home to those who like the quiet life, with only a small Pokemon center a few stores and a contest hall as the only non houses of the village. Of course, the village is quite used to traveling trainers passing through and know how to capitalise on it.

"Ooooh! Hey Artie, come look at this!" Alfred calls as he stops outside one of the towns small shops.

"Arthur, my name is Arthur! Stop calling me that!" He snaps, growing more frustrated each time Alfred calls him by the nickname. "And look at what?" He adds as he joins Al at the store front.

"This!" Al waves his hands at a poster plastered to the store window.

**Poké week**

The poster reads, below this is a split image of a tag battle and a Pokemon contest.

**Are you a Pokémon trainer? Coordinator? Both?**

**Then this is the event for you!**

**From Monday to Friday, Poké week brings trainers of all skills together for 5 days of incredible contest!**

**Want to join in the fun?**

**Sign up now at your local contest hall!**

"Huh."

"Doesn't it sound awesome?!" Alfred asks bouncing on his feet, Rufflet perched once more on his head. He can't help it, he's always been a sucker for festivals, and a battle tournament? Sign him up!

"Well, looks like it's good we got here when we did. The event starts tomorrow."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go sign up!" Arthur nods as he follows him to the towns contest hall. The halls not hard to find as it's easily the biggest building in the whole town. Passing through the front doors the pair can see more of the same poster plastered outside on the halls windows.

Bounding up to the front desk, Alfred happily addresses the receptionist.

"Sign me up for the event please!"

"Ru!" Rufflet cries in agreement.

"Hello..." She says, a bit taken aback by Alfred's enthusiasm. Quickly recovering she asks "Would you like to sign up for the contest or the tag battle tournament?"

"Tag battle?" He asks confused.

"Did you even _read_ the rules on the poster?" Arthur asks once he reaches the desk.

"Uh, no?" He says. He was so excited about the event he didn't look to see the rules for it, whoops. Arthur sighs at that. The receptionist smiles in understanding and explains to the pair, though mostly for Alfred's benefit.

"The Poké Week is a two staged event. A open Pokemon contest for coordinators is held in the morning and a tag battle tournament is held in the afternoon, free for any pair of trainers to enter. This way, a trainer can enter both events if they wish and neither clash. The contest is a one Pokemon open competition, perfect for beginners. The tournament is a tag battle of one Pokemon per trainer. So which would you like to sign up for?" She asks as she finishes explaining.

"The tag battle of course!"

"And will you be joining as his trainer partner?" She asks Arthur, before turning back to Al and adds "Or would you like to be paired up with another competitor?"

"You'll join with me Artie, won't you?" Al pleads.

"Arthur! Maybe if you actually _listen_ and stop calling me that ridiculous nickname I might." He huffs, crossing his arms.

"Okay, Okay, I'm just messing with you," Al laughs to try to diffuse the situation " _Arthur_ , will you join the tag battle with me, pleeeeeeaaasssseee?"

" _Oh_ , Fine!" He throws his arms up in the air, tired of Alfred's pleading.

"Yes!" He cheers. "Okay, sign us up for the tag battle!"

"Alright, I just need your trainer cards and the name of the Pokemon your going to use." Handing over their cards, Alfred considers this.

"I think I'll use Freedom here." He says pointing to the bird Pokemon on his head.

"Ru, Rufflet!" It cheers at being picked.

"Arthur?" Al turns to his friend. Arthur looks like he's thinking about it before he surprises Alfred with his choice.

"In that case, I'll be using Torch, my Lampent." He tells the receptionist.

"Torch? But ain't he afraid of like, _everything_? How's he gonna battle if he's constantly cowering behind you?"

"Heh, you'll see." Arthur says, smirking that knowing look of his.

"Alright your all signed up, here's your cards back and your entry passes." The receptionist says as she hands the items over.

"Thanks."

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

After a quick look around the town, the pair head to the Pokemon center.

"Hello, Nurse Joy." Arthur greets as they enter. Unlike Marcel city's center, this one is a small two story building.

"Hello, How can I help you trainers today." She smiles as they enter.

"A full health check up for our Pokemon, and a room for the night if you have any spare." Arthur asks.

"I'll have your Pokemon seen to right away. Blissey, could you take care of these please." She asks as the Pokemon comes through from behind the front desk.

"Blii." It nods heading of to do it's job.

"As for a room, we're all booked up for the week I'm afraid. If you want to stay, you'll have to share a room with a pair of trainers already here."

"That's fine, right Arthur?"

"Yes, that's fine with us."

"Alright then, room 218 is yours." She says handing over a room key.

"Thank you."

"Thanks Nurse Joy!"

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

It doesn't take long to find the room, it's other occupants already inside.

"Ah, Hello." Arthur greets as he opens the door and the pair look up.

"Hey, there!" Alfred waves, friendliness filling his voice.

"Oh hey." The blonde mumbles, moving to try to hide himself behind the rooms other occupant.

"Ah, Hello." The brunette says looking up from his place on the bottom bunk bed. The room is small, with only enough space for two bunk beds to fit pressed up against each wall, a small desk sits beside the door.

"Sorry about the intrusion, but this was the only room available." Arthur explains as he moves over to the unoccupied side of the room.

"Oh, no, that's fine!" The brunette rushes to say, standing and offering his hand. "I'm Toris, and this is Feliks. Don't mind him, he's just shy around strangers." Toris explains as he introduces himself. Taking the offered hand Arthur shakes it as he returns the greeting.

"Arthur, and this idiot here is Alfred, feel free to ignore anything he says."

"Hey!"

"Hehe." Feliks snickers at Al's affronted look.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

As they get settled into the room the four quickly get to know each other, Feliks relaxing back to his usual self soon enough. The pair learn that Toris is 18 and Feliks is 17, both working to become top Pokemon coordinators together. The Pair have come here to take part in the open contest to test out their newest routines before heading to the next main contest. Feliks laments his woes of loosing his first ribbon to Toris.

"I was soooo close to! Like, you should have seen it!" He cries as Toris laughs.

"It was a close contest." He agrees, showing the pair his blue ribbon from the contest in Dream Dew town.

"So what Pokemon are you guys going to use?" Al asks, this is the most enthralled he's ever been about contests, who knew they could sound so exciting.

"I'm a use this cutie!" Feliks says as he proudly waves around a pink heal ball. The ball opens, revealing the Pokemon.

"Cu?" It questions as it buzzes about in the air, curiously looking over the new people in the room.

"Cutie is the best!" He proclaims, petting the tiny bug Pokemon.

"Cool." Al says as he pulls his dex out to learn about the Pokemon.

" _Cutiefly_ _, The bee fly Pokémon._ _It feeds on the nectar and pollen of flowers._ _Myriads of Cutiefly flutter above the heads of people who have auras resembling those of flowers._ " The dex reads as the Pokemon circles above Feliks' head.

"As for me, I'll be using my Golett." Toris says, not letting the Pokemon out in the cramped space, which Alfred is suddenly thankful for.

"Wait, t-that's a ghost Pokemon i-isn't it?" He asks, trying and failing to not show any fear.

"Yes. Why, is something wrong?" Toris asks, looking concerned at Alfred's suddenly paling face.

"Nope!"

"He's scared of ghost types." Both Al and Arthur say at the same time.

"Oh."

"Yeah, they're kinda freaky sometimes." Feliks agrees with Al to try to make him feel better.

"I'm not _completely_ scared, at least, not anymore." He tries to defend himself.

"No, you are doing quite well with the others. Once you're completely comfortable around all three of them then we can work on you getting better around those you don't know." Arthur says, nodding to himself as he continues to plan out Alfred's gentle introduction to being fine around all ghost Pokemon.

"Oh, so you're trying to not be scared around them? That's just like Feliks was with bug types."

"Really?" Al asks looking to the bug Pokemon in the coordinators hands.

"Yeah, I couldn't stand to be anywhere near them, now, I'm, like, amazing with them."

"You see Al, there's hope for you yet." Arthur assures.

The four talk well into the night, sharing stories of past adventures from the coordinators, and Alfred regaling them with the tale of his first gym battle. Soon they must all bid good night to be ready for the events of the coming day. Dreams of success filling their unconscious minds, excited for the morrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And onwards the boys go. Now for the next small arc, Tournaments and Contests! And more members join the cast, Poland and Lithuania say hi to everyone!
> 
> Stay tuned for the first day for the Poké week event!
> 
> Reviews feed the author, till next time, stay awesome!


	13. Time for a contest

Alfred is woken by the sounds of quiet talking and people moving about. In the small room, it's hard to go unnoticed, even by someone who sleeps as deeply as Alfred.

Lifting his head from the pillow, he turns to see Feliks pulling on his shirt below as Toris climbs down from the bunk across from him.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to wake you Alfred." He apologises once down.

Yawning, Al sits up and shakes his head.

"Naaah, it's fine." He assures as he too, climbs down, Rufflet waking and immediately moving onto his head.

"Hey, where's Arthur?" He asks as he sees the bunk below his is empty.

"He left, like, a while ago. Think he said something about getting food." Feliks shrugs as he sorts his bag.

"Oh."

"We didn't want to wake you up, since the tournament isn't till the afternoon. We thought you might want a lie in." Toris explains as he gets ready for the day.

"No way, if I slept in, I wouldn't get to see you guys' contest." He says as he changes. As the three get ready the room door opens and Arthur comes back inside.

"Oh, your up." He says looking to Alfred.

"Where'd you go?"

"Breakfast."

"Dude, it's like..." Alfred looks about before spotting the small alarm clock on the desk. "7:30am. Why'd you go so early? We still have loads of time, we could have eaten together." He complains. Alfred, for all he grew up on a farm, is most definitely _not_ a morning person.

"You'll see." There's that smirk again, "I'll meet you at the contest hall in about an hour." He says as he grabs his bag and heads back out the room.

" _Now_ where are you going?" Alfred calls after him but receives no reply. He looks to the others for an answer, but they have none to give.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

An hour later the trio arrive at the contest hall.

"For such a small town, this place sure can draw crowds." Al remarks as he looks about for their missing member, "Hey, Freedom, can you see Arthur?"

"Ruff." His Pokemon replies looking about upon his head, but not finding their quarry.

"We'll see you later, Alfred. Come on Feliks, let's go get ready." Toris says as he drags his friend into the hall.

"Sure, catch you after Al!" The blonde calls as the pair head on in.

"See ya!" Al waves as they go. 'Great, now where _is_ Arthur?' Wading through the crowd, Alfred jumps slightly when a hand lands on his shoulder.

"Hehe, a bit jumpy are we?" Arthur asks.

"Artie! Dude, _there_ you are!" He cries when realising his friend has returned.

"Arthur! How. Many. Times!" He bites out at Alfred.

"What? I don't get what's so bad about it?"

"I absolutely **_hate_ ** that nickname."

"Okay, how about Art?"

"No."

"Alright... Oooh! What about Iggy?"

"I-Iggy? Where the _hell_ did you get _that_ from?" Arthur asks as he give Al a bewildered look.

"Your middle name, Ignatius, Iggy." Arthur takes a step back and stares for a full minute. Completely lost for a response that doesn't involve smashing his head into the contest halls brick walls.

"That's not a no~" Al teases in a sing song voice at Arthur's silence.

"I- wh- ho- y- hhhuuu?" Is the strange mix of sounds that Arthur produces to this. About all Alfred got from that was the questioning tone of it all.

"So... Iggy, you good?" He says, starting to grow concerned, Arthur hasn't moved or even blinked and it's starting to freak him out.

"NO!" He finally gets out, all too loud that even he jumps at the volume of his voice.

"Okay, okay. But come on dude, I gotta call you some thing."

"Arthur! Just. Call me _Arthur_. Is that _really_ so hard?"

"But that's so booooring. Everyone needs a nickname."

"No, no they don't."

"Whatever you say, Iggy~"

"Aarrggghh!" Alfred laughs at Arthur's frustration. He happily heads on into the hall, looking to get a good seat before the event starts as Arthur follows, making strangling gestures behind his back. He can hear him grumbling behind him before the crowd drowns it out.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

Once inside it doesn't take them long to find seats, even one for Rufflet. As they wait for the contest to start, Alfred takes it upon himself to get them all snacks from the passing vendors. Now, popcorn and drinks in hand, they eagerly watch as the first event of the week begins.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer says, coming out onto the stage.

"Welcome to the Poké week Open contest! Today we have many talented coordinators, of all ages and skill levels, who are going to put on a wonderful show for you all, I'm sure. With me today, are the judges for the contest. Mr. Wick, vice chairman of the Pokemon contest committee, Mr. Oxenstierna, from the Trainers Guild and of course, Kansa Village's very own, Nurse Joy.

Now please, give a warm welcome to our first competitor!" The crowd cheers as the announcer bows and leaves the stage.

All falls quiet and the lights are dimmed, allowing the sunlight from the open roof to act as the sole source of light. A moment later the first competitor comes out. It isn't Feliks or Toris, but the pair watch the display closely anyway. Alfred has never really watched a contest before, but now he can see the appeal. The Pokemon are all well groomed, coats and scales and skin shining. And they all move with such poise and finesse, he wonders how he's never seen one before now. Going by Arthur's outburst the other day, and his mumbling comments to himself, Al's getting the feeling that Arthur's really into contests.

A few contestants have gone, and most were pretty good. Even the poor girl that tripped and fell, made it look like she meant it and was able to carry on. But so far he's not seen anything spectacular, nothing like the small glimpse he saw of Francis back in the Marcel city Pokemon center anyway. The contestants are in alphabetical order, so both Feliks and Toris won't be out for a while. But amongst all the fairly good contestants, one does stand out.

A young man, maybe in his mid twenties, comes out. Just from a glance, it's obvious that he knows what he's doing. Unlike all the others so far, he doesn't mistime his cue when the announcer introduces him. Ivan Braginsky comes out on stage, full of confidence, and bows to the audience. The crowd gives an unusually loud cheer at his name, Arthur must tell he's confused as he leans over and explains.

"That's Ivan, he's a very well known coordinator. He came close to beating the Frog for king last year."

"Oh." Alfred feels slightly out of the loop not knowing this man. He watches as Ivan pulls his pokeball out and tosses it into the air with a flourish.

"Sunflllllooooraaa." The Pokemon practically sings as it appears, spinning on the spot and bowing to the audience as well.

"A sunflora, huh." Alfred's seen plenty of them before, his parents have a whole green house of them. He never could figure out why, something about maintaining soil quality.

"Sunny, kindly use Sunny Day into Petal Dance, if you would." Al can here the man ask.

"Sun, flora." The Pokemon spins on the spot again as the sunlight filtering in grows brighter, and petals begin to form around the Pokemon, spinning in perfect sync together.

"Sun!" It cries as it stops, and sends the petals out all around to flutter back down to the ground where they dissipate. As the petals fall the Pokemon leans back, allowing the light to shine on its immaculately cared for body.

"Now Solar Beam, if you would."

"Sun, Sun!" It sings back as it instantly fires of the attack into the air and out the open roof. As the light from the attack fades, the last few falling petals glisten and shine. Ivan and his Pokemon both bow as one and the crowd cheers it's loudest yet.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

More contestants do their best, but it's clear many have been intimidated by the skill of Ivan, and trip up under the pressure of trying to live up to his standard.

"I hope Feliks and Toris are doing alright. With someone like Ivan competing, they must both be feeling the pressure, even if this _is_ an open contest." Arthur says beside him as they both watch another poor contestant muck up their routine.

"Yeah." He agrees. He never thought of how much pressure one performance could put on people, but he's never been in their shoes so he can't really say he understands it. Alfred lives for Pokemon battles, but if he thinks about it, it'd kinda be like doing a battle after watching the champion smoke someone. Yeah... That'd feel pretty hard to live up to.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

Finally they hear the names they had been waiting for. It's been some time since Ivan's performance, and most of the competitors now seem to have calmed back down.

"Now, please give a warm welcome to, Toris Laurinaitis!" Toris comes out on stage, not missing his cue -first hurdle cleared- and bows. He seems a bit nervous, whether from the crowd, or the still present after effects of seeing Ivan is not clear.

He takes a deep breath as he rights, all nerves seeming suddenly calmed, and sends out his Pokemon.

"Golemas, let's do this." He says as his Pokemon appears.

Alfred tries not to tense too much in his seat. It's the Golett Toris mentioned before. But he can't help it, it's a knee jerk reaction to ghosts.

"Just breathe, Alfred." Arthur tries to help calm him, "Have you ever seen a Golett before?" He asks, trying to distract him like they had discussed one night.

"N-no." Damn it, he's stuttering again.

"Then look it up." Arthur tells him, gesturing to the pocket he keeps the Pokédex in. Pulling the device out Al does as he suggests, he's willing to try this distraction technique.

" _Golett_ _, The automaton Pokemon._ _Ancient science fashioned this Pokémon from clay_ _._ _The energy that burns inside it enables it to move, but no one has yet been able to identify this energy._ "

"You see? That doesn't sound like anything to be scared of does it?"

"No."

"Golemas, finish with Stomping Tantrum!"

"Goooolll!"

Oh, too busy trying not to be afraid, he's missed most of Toris' performance. Looking down on the stage, Al questions what they're doing. The stage is covered in a smooth layer of mud and now the Golett is stomping about on it. He can't see the judges faces from here, but the crowd is silent. Al's afraid that Toris isn't doing well when he finally notices what the pair are doing.

As the Golett comes to a stop on the middle of the mud the pair take a bow. A moment of horrifying silence meets them, before the crowd erupts in cheers. They might be just as loud as they were for Ivan. At first glance it might seem like all they did was throw mud about the stage but a closer look will reveal that they have made a very detailed drawing of a Golurk. Al now wishes he had been paying attention, especially when he hears Arthur commenting on their display.

"Hm, very impressive. That was a risky move, dirtying up his pokemon and relying on the final result to show off they're true skill." He says as he nods, clapping approvingly.

A Vaporeon comes on from back stage to clean the stage before the next contestant comes out.

"Well, that was certainly something unexpected. Now, let's see what our next coordinator has in store. Please welcome to the stage, Feliks Łukasiewicz!"

On cue, Feliks bounds out onto the stage, no sign of any nerves. Alfred finds it interesting that he's completely fine appearing before a crowd but not with just two new people.

"Alright, Cutie! Let's, like, blow them away!" He happily announces as he sends out his Pokemon.

"Cu." The tiny bug Pokemon buzzes around his head upon entry. The crowd ohs approvingly, after all, pink Cutiefly's are very rare.

"Now, like, show them how amazing you are with Stun Spore and Fairy Wind!"

"Cu, Cu!"

Flying out into the middle of the stage, the bug preforms a small flip as it releases the spores into the air. Before they can fall, the Pokemon quickly switches into Fairy Wind, buzzing its wings at high speed to blow the spores across the whole stage. In the light from the opening the spores and Wind together glisten and shine beautifully.

"Now, blow them all away with your Draining Kiss!"

"Cuuuuu!" The Pokemon cries as glows softly with power before launching the fairy attack. The kiss floats gently forward before dispersing, blowing the particles of wind and spores away, clearing the stage as Feliks bows, his Pokemon coming to land on his head.

The crowd cheers approvingly and Alfred can't help but be swept up by it all.

"Well, we _certainly_ have some _very_ skilled coordinators here today. Now on to our next contestant!"

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Feliks, Toris! You guys were amazing!" Al greets the pair outside the contest hall. The contest over for the day the pair can now relax. Tomorrow the second lot of contestants compete, so they'll have a rest day, then they'll learn who gets through to the second round of the competition.

"Ah, thank you. I was so nervous going on. I can't believe Ivan is here." The brunette sighs, clearly relieved to be done.

"Yeah, Sorry. But I kinda missed part of it trying not to freak out, you know." Al apologises, feeling bad for missing the routine.

"Oh, no. It's fine." Toris reassures, waving his hands in front of him, "Really, I was such a nervous wreck out there, I'm kind of glad you missed it. I'd much rather you see us when we're at our best." He continues to reason.

"What are you talking about? You were, like, totally amazing! Your mud art was so cool!"

"Feliks is right, I've never seen anyone doing that before." Arthur agrees. ' _Definitely_ _a fan of contests, yup._ '

"Ah, thank you. I was worried no one would like it. Dirtying your Pokemon goes against everything in Pokemon contest about showing the Pokemon off, I thought that they might not even consider the end result."

"Seriously, how many times do I have to say it? Your, like, the smartest coordinator I know! Your routines are so original, no one can hate on them!" Feliks proclaims.

"You were both very good." Arthur praises.

"Yeah, did you see how Cutie sparkles out there? Soooo cute!"

"Hehe, yes, Cutie is very sweet." Toris agrees, glad to move on from his performance.

"So, what do you guy's say. Lunch? Then it's time for us to compete in the tournament." Al asks as his stomach rumbles.

"Seriously? Your still hungry?" Arthur asks disbelievingly, he still can't get over how much Alfred eats. On the way to town he had eaten everything Arthur made. No one has ever done that! He didn't say anything at the time, but he's pretty sure Alfred could tell how happy it made him. That or his stomach is actually a small black hole, at this point it's 50/50.

"Dude, popcorn is like, 90% air. Course I'm still hungry." He reasons. Sighing, Arthur shakes his head.

"Fine." He gives in.

"Alright to lunch!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contest time! And now Russia and Sweden has joined the growing cast. I think I have a role for just about everyone, depending on how things go, some nyo's may also make an appearance. And yes, he has a sunflower for a Pokemon, cause, how could I not?
> 
> Also, I just realised, shiny Cutiefly's are pink! Sooooo, now Poland has a pink Pokemon in a pink ball, yup totally planned that! *pretends that I didn't just now realise their colour while writing the chapter.*
> 
> Also I'm worried i'm not doing Poland and Lithuania's characters justice. Am I writing them any good? I've never tried writing for them before, so let me know if I'm way off mark.
> 
> And hey if you want, go check out my tumblr, the poster for last chapter is now up there.
> 
> As always reviews are nice but, till next time. Stay awesome!


	14. The tournament begins!

"I'm soooo ready for this!" Alfred proclaims. He can hardly contain himself as he and Arthur wait back stage of the contest hall, now being set up as a battle field.

"Yes, Yes, your very excited." Arthur sighs, rolling his eyes at Alfred's antics.

"Alright trainers," The announcer from earlier says coming back stage with Nurse Joy, "we'll be starting soon. Please, one from each pair, come pick a number from this hat to decide the order you'll battle and your opponents." He says as he holds out a large top hat.

"I'll go!" Alfred tells Arthur as he bounds up to the announcer. Smiling he sticks his hand inside and pulls out a small red ball, the number 3 clear to see.

"Red 3," The man tells the nurse, "Of you go, you'll be called when it's time." He adds to Alfred.

Coming back to join his friend, he waves the ball in Arthur's face.

"Number 3! That means we won't have to wait long!"

"Right."

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

From their place back stage they can hear the battles of the other trainers as they wait for they're turn. Alfred is growing antsy at the waiting, the small room is packed and he's desperate to get out and burn of all his pent up energy. He can tell Freedom is also getting impatient as he squawks at any one who comes too close or jostles Alfred.

Finally though, they're called. Both quickly head to the doors, from their place they can see the stage, now marked with chalk lines. The announcer stands out front, congratulating the previous battlers before introducing the next pair.

"Wha! No." Arthur suddenly says beside him, spying the camera crew trained on the field, and turns to leave.

"Wha! Arthur! Where are you going!" Al cries, grabbing his arm before he can leave.

"Let go! No one said this would be televised!" He snaps trying to pull his arm free.

"Huh? Your not camera shy are you? Come on, it'll be fine!" Al tries to reassure him. The television crew must have arrived during the break. He has to convince him quick, the announcer is beginning the introduction for their battle.

"Of course not!" He snaps back, still tugging his arm to leave.

"Then what's the problem?" When he receives no answer he continues, "Please, Arthur. I reeeaaallly wanna do this. And I want you to do it with me." Still no response as Arthur looks away. He can hear their names being called, it's now or never.

" _Please_ , Arthur." He pleads, letting his arm go and stepping towards the stage. For one horrible moment, he thinks Arthur is going to bail, but thankfully, he doesn't. He looks up and nods, following Alfred out on stage, though Al notices he keeps his head down, out of view of the camera. But Al tries to cover for them by waving happily to the audience. They cheer as the pair walk out, taking their place. Across from them, their opponents stand at the ready, a girl and a older man. The judge from before, Oxenstierna, stands as the match referee.

"Send out your Pokemon." He says in a gruff, slightly mumbling voice.

"Freedom, your up! It's time to shine!" Al calls as the bird Pokemon jumps down from his head. Across from them their opponents send out their Pokemon, a Venomoth from the girl and a Glaceon from the man. Beside him, Arthur is still yet to send out Torch.

"Arthur?" Al asks pleadingly. If Arthur doesn't send his Pokemon out, it'll count as a forfeit. He hears him sigh before he watches Arthur proudly raise his head and send Torch out.

"Torch, time for battle!"

"Lam..." The Pokemon worriedly says once out, arm raised to it's face as it looks about.

"Torch, remember what I told you?"

"La? Lam..." Giving one more fearful look about it looks back to Arthur and nods, "Lampent!" It says, suddenly full of determination and turns to face their opponents.

"Trainers ready?" The red judge asks, all nodding in agreement, "Battle start!"

"Veny, Super Sonic!" The girl calls.

"Glaceon, Icy Wind!" The man calls at the same time.

"Veeee!"

The Venomoth moves up into the air, beating its wings at high speed to generate the high pithed sound of the attack, while the Glaceon braces it's self. Opening its mouth, the ice Pokemon cries out as it sends a wave of frigid wind towards the pair.

"Gllllaaaa!"

"Ruffy, dodge and use Wing Attack on the Venomoth!" Al calls, aiming for the Pokemon weakest against his, just as the pair had planned earlier.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

_"_ _Alright_ _, Alfred. While you stuff your face we need to make a plan for how we're going to battle." Arthur says as the four of them sit on the benches outside of the contest hall._

_"_ _Hmm_ _?" He questions, mouth full of the pasta from the only shop to sell cooked food for takeout._

_Sighing_ _Arthur explains, "We won't know what type of Pokémon we'll be up against, so we should plan for each type match up."_

_Alfred_ _swallows his mouthful before answering. "Oh, Yeah, that does make sense. But won't that take too long?"_

_"_ _No_ _, I've already thought about all the major type disadvantages. Why do you think I chose Torch?" He asks, Giving Alfred an expectant look._

_"I_ _don't_ _know, I've never seen you battle with Torch before, you've only use Casper in training with me." He reminds._

_"_ _Well_ _the short answer is to cover you. Or more specifically, Freedom. As a flying type, he's weak to rock and ice types. Torch can cover those weaknesses with his fire and grass type moves. Plus, it's about time he got to have some fun battling again._

_"_ _Torch_ _? Fun? All I've seen him do is hide."_

_"_ _Well_ _, you'll be in for a surprise. Just leave those Freedom is weak to to us, trust me." He smirks._

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Torch, get behind Glaceon and use Inferno." Arthur calmly commands.

"La!"

As Rufflet flies up out of the way of both attacks and aims for the Venomoth, Al watches as Lampent disappears. Using it's ghost typing to it's advantage and reappearing directly behind the Glaceon. Bringing its arms together Torch creates a ball of fire and forces it upon the ice type Pokémon.

"Glaaaaa!" It cries, engulfed in flames.

"Ru!"

"Veee!" At the same time Rufflet lands it's hit, sending the Venomoth crashing to the ground. Both Pokemon fainted, the match ends just as soon as it had started. A stunned silence follows as the referee calls the battle.

"Both Venomoth and Glaceon are unable to continue, Rufflet and Lampent win." Before the hall erupts in cheers.

"Yeah!" Al jumps about in celebration as Rufflet flies down to be hugged, a job well done. Lampent suddenly appears back at their sides, looking quite please with himself. Before he can even think about it Alfred surprises all of them by grabbing Torch in a hug.

"Torch! You were soooo cool! I never knew you were so strong!" Getting over the surprise of Alfred hugging his ghost Pokemon Arthur smiles.

"I told you you'd be surprised didn't I?" He asks, looking quite smug.

The pair move off to the room back stage, were they are met with silent stares and quiet whispers. Type advantages aside, it's rare for a battle to be won with one hit, let alone a tag battle to be finished in one single orchestrated move. Al smiles the stares off while Arthur chooses to glare at those whispering as they move to find a seat. The next lot are called up and things begin to return to normal in the waiting room once more.

"You." A voice suddenly says from behind them. Turning around, they're met with a young woman with platinum blonde, waist long hair. A large white bow is tied on top of her head, beside her Alfred realises Ivan is standing next to the girl.

"Uh, Hey." He says, Giving a small wave. He didn't know Ivan was also in the tournament. The girl glares at him silently, beginning to make him feel rather uncomfortable. Seemingly satisfied with whatever it was she was looking for she steps back.

"Don't lose. I want to be the one to beat you for my brother." With that she turns and disappears back into the masses.

"Sorry about her." Ivan then apologises! "My little sister can come off as a bit intense sometimes. But she means well." He explains.

"Oh, no, it's fine." He says, even if he is still a bit unnerved by the encounter. Extending his hand Ivan introduces himself.

"My names Ivan Braginsky and that was my sister Natalia."

"Alfred F. Jones. This is Arthur."

"Hello, Ivan."

"Ah, Arthur, I thought that was you. Only you could use such overkill in a battle."

"Hardly." He smirks.

"Wait...You two _know_ each other?" Alfred gapes at the pair.

"Yes, I met Arthur a few months back. Ah! That reminds me, Francis says to tell you your a, ooooh what was it he said... hmm. I can't remember, something rude though."

"I'm sure, damned frog."

"Wait Wait Wait! Back up, you know Francis now?! Like contest King, screaming at the T.V because he won, king?"

" _Yes_ Al. What about that is so hard to understand?"

"Wha- _how_?"

"That's none of your business." He says, sniffing in disdain.

"Hehe, are you still mad?" Ivan asks, trying to hide his laugh.

"Of course not! Only a child would still be fussed with that."

"Hehe, you are."

"He's an arse!" Arthur shouts loud enough to turn a few heads.

"Well you did shave his beard, so I think your both even."

Alfred thinks his brain might just have melted. Arthur, mister grumpy, everything must be prim and proper, _Arthur_. Somehow shaved the current Pokemon contest _King's_ beard. Is he awake right now? Did he somehow pass out during the battle and this is all a dream, an alternative reality? He discretely pinches himself. Nope, still awake so this must be an alternative reality then. Because he simply can't comprehend that Arthur did want they're saying. Though... this does bring up the question...

"So, what did Francis _do_ to make you hate him so much?" Insult his cooking, beat him in a battle?

"Nothing!"

"Hehe, maybe that's a story for another time."

"Don't you dare!" Arthur warns.

"Aw, come on! You gotta tell me!"

"Hmm. How about this, if you win the tournament, I _might_ , consider telling you."

"What! That's no fair."

"It doesn't matter cause your never going to know!" Arthur refutes the bet, warning Ivan with many colourful words just what fate awaits him if he even _thinks_ about telling Alfred.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

The trio sit down to watch the others battle, now being shown on the small wall T.V, before Ivan and his sister are called out.

"Ah, time for our bout. Natalia?" He calls into the crowd of trainers.

"Yes, brother?" She asks, appearing scarily fast next to him. Ivan dosn't seem fazed as he asks, "Ready?"

"Yes." She nods.

"Save our seats, this won't take long." He says as the head out.

And he wasn't lying. Both he and his sister defeat there opponents with ease, their powerful ice type Pokémon making quick work of them.

"Ah, that was fun. Don't you agree Natalia?"

"They were pathetic. Not worth your time." She says, expression as serious as ever.

"And you say _I_ use overkill." Arthur jests as they sit down.

"You do. I, on the other hand, use just force." Ivan reasons as if using a double Blizzard on a Goomy and a Phanpy _wasn't_ over doing it.

They settle back in to watching the other battles until the days end. Just like the coordinators, they'll have a rest day tomorrow as the rest of the first rounders do battle. Then on Wednesday it's round two for everyone and Alfred can't wait.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

Arthur lies awake in bed, unable to fall asleep. ' _I'm_ _probably worrying about this too much._ ' He thinks, ' _After_ _all, what are the chances I'll be seen? It's just one small camera crew, and with all the hundreds of T.V channels, I doubt they'd notice._ ' He sighs as he rolls over. ' _Yeah_ _, the chances are probably zero... Probably..._ ' Another sigh, another roll. ' _I_ _should just go to sleep._ '

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

" _..._ _and_ _their opponents, Alfred Jones and Arthur Kirkland!_ "

Peter sat up at the name, staring at the T.V screen.

" _..._ _dodge_ _and use Wing Attack..._ "

Did he really hear that right?

" _..._ _behind_ _Glaceon and use Inferno._ "

Peter watches as the messy blonde on screen calmly commands the ghost Pokemon, eyes wide as he realises who it is.

"Daaaaaaad!" He shouts as he kneels to look over the back of the couch, out into the hallway. Yamask jumps from it's place next to him.

"Yes, son?" The man asks coming into the room.

"Arthur's on T.V!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter you grass. Whelp, Arthur things might not go so smoothly for you now. Or will they? You'll just have to wait and see. *mwhahahaha* *dodges flying scones*
> 
> And now Belarus is here, she really is never far from Russia, even in this alternative reality. But the real question is; just what did Francis do?
> 
> Cookies to anyone who can guess Russia's and Belarus's Pokemon.
> 
> Also, as a side note; I try to keep the British colloquialisms and slang to a minimum, and only for Arthur, so I don't confuse anyone, but sometimes things slip through the cracks. So if I do write anything you don't get don't be afraid to ask!
> 
> (At least I did't say that Golett got maukit last chapter, I don't think anyone outside of Scotland would have gotten that).
> 
> I feed on reviews so don't let me starve...
> 
> Till next time, stay awesome!


	15. Finding trouble

"Waaah! I can't believe you know Ivan!" Feliks cries as the four get ready. Last night Alfred had told the coordinators of they're battle and meeting Ivan and his kinda creepy sister. Toris was quick surprise but Feliks, much like Alfred, still can't seem to get over it. Or that Arthur personally know's the contest King.

"And Francis! Okay, you, like, _have_ to tell me! What's he like? What products does he use? Oh,oh! Where does he get his Pokemon groomed? Cause that has to be the best groomers, like, _ever_!" He continues to bombard Arthur with questions. Honestly, it's a surprise any of them got to sleep last night.

"I've already told you," Arthur sighs, wishing Alfred had never found out now, "I don't know what the frog uses, or where he gets his Pokemon groomed, nor do I care." He huffs.

"Alright, Alright. But you, like, so totally have to introduce us!"

"No way! I couldn't take meeting the King!" Toris waves his hands backing up from the idea alone.

"Aww, come on T, this is, like, a golden opportunity. You can't just pass stuff like this up!"

"Hahaha!" Alfred laughs at the trio from his bunk. Yup, today's gonna be a good day, he can feel it!

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

Today is definitely not a good day.

Alfred stares. Arthur stares.

What. The. Hell?

Oh, this is bad. This is _way_ off the scale into outer _space_ bad!

This was supposed to be a rest day...

To think, this all started because of a Klefki...

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Alright so, what do you guys want to do?" Al asks as they leave the Pokemon center.

"I think I'll practice my routine some more." Toris says.

"Same." Feliks agrees.

"I need to go buy something for Torch." Arthur says heading off.

"Wait! I'll come with! See you guys later!" Al calls back to the pair as he follows after Arthur.

"Suit yourself." He shrugs.

"Sooo," Al asks when he can't take the quiet any longer, "What are you looking to buy?"

"Torch's favourite snack. He did well in that battle yesterday, so he can have his promised reward." He explains as he looks through the shop windows.

"Oooh, what'y gonna get him?" Rather than answer, Arthur walks into a store not far from the contest hall.

"Ah, here we are." Alfred follows him in, ducking slightly to avoid hitting Rufflet on the door frame.

"Ru?" The bird questions, looking about and sniffing the air. It's a Poffin shop.

"Oh, Poffins. I thought they were only used by coordinators though."

"True, coordinators do use them to help bring out the desired characteristics of their Pokemon. But Poffin are also a tasty snack. If you know what your Pokemon likes, it's always a good treat to give." Arthur explains as he moves along the shelf's, looking for something in particular it seems. The whole place gives him the feel of a candy store. One side of the shop is set up like a pick'n'mix. With large clear boxes filled with all kinds of Poffins and scoops to pick what you want, a scale at the far end of the rows. On the other side, where Arthur is, is rows of shelf's filled with jars and small boxes, each at a set price.

"Huh. What do you say Ruffy? Wanna try some?" He asks, spotting the free samples. Set in the middle of the store, all kinds of colours and flavours sit on trays, each with a name tag and description of the type of Poffin it is. A small stand in the centre simply reads:

**Free samples!**

**Try me!**

"Ruuff!" His Pokemon agrees looking over the lot.

"Okay... But what to try?"

"Hello, need some help?" The store assistant asks as she comes over.

"Oh, uh, maybe?" He says, scratching the back of his head. The choices are just too many.

"Hehe, that's not a problem. First time trying Poffins?"

"Uh, Yeah."

"Well, let's start with the basics." She says as she walks over to a tray. The Poffins on it look the most plain of the lot, though still very colourful.

"These are your basic one flavour Poffin. They have a smooth texture which most Pokemon like." She explains. "Do you know what type of flavour your Pokemon prefers?"

"Uh, no, hehe." He laughs nervously. He's never really considered if his Pokemon don't like the food he gives them since they always finish it. But he doesn't want to seem like a bad trainer for not knowing.

"Don't worry, it's easy to find out. Here try this one." She says as she hands over a plain pink Poffin.

"Okay, what do you think Ruffy?" He asks, offering the food up to the bird on his head.

"Ru?" Rufflet sniffs the Poffin before taking it, but immediately spits it back out.

"Ruuuuu!"

"Oops. Okay, so definitely not sweet. Here try this one." She says handing over a plain red one this time.

"Here, boy, try this." He offers the food up again. Rufflet gives it a wary look before sniffing it. As soon as he smells the Poffin, Ruffy snaps it up, eating it in one mouth full.

"Ru, ru!" He cries, flapping his wings to show his delight at the food.

"Hehe, like that one then?"

"Ru, ru!"

"So, spicy but not sweet. That means your Rufflet is Brave."

"Huh."

"She means the FPN test." Arthur explains as he comes over.

"That's correct." She nods.

"The wha?"

Arthur sighs, "The FPN, or flavour preference to nature test. It's a test that was developed by a Pokemon professor some years ago. A Pokemon's true nature can be determined through their preferences to flavours. For example Torch is of a Timid nature so he like sweet things but hates spicy foods. Rufflet hating sweet but liking spicy means he's of a Brave nature."

"Really? You can tell that from food? But I thought it was obvious that Torch is really Timid. And Ruffy being brave is just how he is." Alfred asks, not sure how food can relate to nature or why it's important.

"Yes, most of the time nature can be fairly clear but sometimes a Pokemon's nature isn't so obvious. That's why the FPN test is important." The girl explains.

"Yes," Arthur nods, "Take Casper for example. The way he acts he could be seen to fall under the Impish, Jolly or even the Sassy nature's. But he's actually of Modest nature."

"Really?"

"Yup, he may laugh at just about everything, but when it comes to himself he doesn't put himself out front. And if your wondering, Pumpkin is of the Docile nature."

"Huh, I never would have guess those two. So if Ruffy is Brave then what's Bouffy?"

"Do the test outside with him and find out."

"Okay."

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

An hour later they leave the shop, arm fulls of Poffins in hand. He never would have thought that Bouffy was of a Relaxed nature, but then again, Bouffy's never really gotten worked up over anything, even in battle he's still pretty chill. As they head back to the center to drop off their haul, a Klefki shadows behind them.

"There." Arthur says as he locks the room door, Poffins now safely sat on the room desk for later.

"Kleee!" A sudden cries startles them as a Pokemon shoots forward and steals the key from Arthur's hand.

"Wha! Hey! Come back here with that!" He shouts as he runs after the Pokemon.

"Dude! Wait up!" Al calls as he hurries to catch up.

"Stop!" He can here Arthur shout as he leaves the center. Man, Arthur sure can run _fast_. Al chases after the pair, Rufflet taking off his head to fly along side him.

"Ruffy, go grab that Klefki!"

"Ru!" His pokemon cries as it flies on ahead.

They're a short distance outside of town when Rufflet finally grabs hold of the Pokemon, pulling it to a stop in mid air. Arthur huffs as he grabs the key and tries to take it back, but the Pokemon's hold doesn't loosen one bit.

"Give it!" He snaps.

"Kllleee!" It cries, refusing to give the key up.

"Hang on, I got this." Al pants as he makes it to the group. Tickling it's key shaped head, Alfred patiently waits for the Pokemon's hold to lessen. It doesn't take long as the Klefki begins to giggle and separate it's arms, dropping it's keys. Arthur quickly grabs theirs and puts it back in his pocket.

"I didn't think you could make a Klefki give up it's keys like that." He says, quite surprised by Alfred.

"Hehe, we have one back at the farm to hold all the keys to the barns and sheds. This was the only way we could ever get her to give them up for cleaning." Al explains as he stops tickling the poor Pokemon senseless.

"Klllee." It whines at having the key taken back.

"It wasn't yours." Arthur grumbles, placing a hand over his pocket to prevent the key from being stolen again. "Now where's your trainer? Or are you just going around stealing keys for the sake of it?" He asks the Pokemon.

"Kle? Klefki." It says picking the only other key it had up and showing it to the pair, a black metal key with a flat end. Looking closely they can see a symbol imbedded in the metal.

"Wait, that's..." Arthur says, eyes widening.

"What?"

"That's the symbol for _Arceus_." He says pointing at the key.

"Arc- Wait, as in like Pokemon God Arceus? Why's it got a key like that?"

"How the hell should I know? Either it stole it from somewhere or it belongs to its trainer."

"So, What? It's trainer likes Arceus or something?"

"Who knows, but it's definitely an odd thing to have on a key, that's for sure."

"Kel!" The Pokemon suddenly cries, as if just remembering something and heads off. The pair, with nothing better to do with their time, decide to follow it. Maybe they might find it's trainer, or at least stop it from stealing anymore keys.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

They follow the Pokemon for quite sometime, seemingly with no real destination in mind before it would remember and hurry off again. The sun has mostly set, twilight setting in, as they are just about to give up and head back, when they hear shouting up a head. Curious, they head towards the sounds, the Klefki zooming on ahead, climbing up the steep hill after it to see.

"Hey, Hey! Careful now! Don't you idiots know how valuable this thing is?!" A man shouts. Beside him Arthur gasps and pulls Alfred down to the ground.

"Get down!" He harshly whispers at him as they flatten themselves at the hills ridge. On front of them they can see a cave and a group of people dressed in black, the symbol for Arceus emblazoned in gold on their backs. A large black transit truck and several cars are parked just at the caves entrance, the man they heard shouting standing at the caves entrance and others stand by the trucks open rear.

"What's going on?"

"Ssshhhh!" Arthur hushes him as they watch. From the cave they can hear more shouts and the angry cry of a Pokemon.

' _This_ _is bad, this is definitely not a normal thing._ ' Alfred thinks.

"Coooo!" They can hear it cry as more shouts come on from the cave.

"That's it, that it!" The man calls into the cave as more people come out. Squinting Alfred can see they're holding some sort of rods in their hands.

"Coooooooo!" The Pokemon roars as it's brought out, caged. Alfred stares as the large, horned, blue, quadruped Pokemon thrashes about it the cage, the men pushing the rods through to shock the Pokemon.

"Haha!" The man laughs as the cage is fulling brought out.

" _Aw_ , tell me _whatever_ is the _matter_ , _Cobalion_?" The man asks, voice sickeningly sweet and full of sarcasm.

"Cooo!" The Pokemon cries in anger as it's horns glow with power and swings it's head, smashing them into the cage bars between it and the man.

"Ah, let me _guess_ , not a fan of your new... _accommodation_? Shame, since you won't be leaving it anytime soon. Hahaha!" He laughs as he steps aside, waving to the others to move the cage onto the truck.

Alfred stares. Arthur stares.

What. The. Hell?

Oh, this is bad. This is _way_ off the scale into outer _space_ bad!

Are these people... kidnaping a legendary Pokemon?!

"Hurry up! We don't have all day!" the man barks.

"Kle!" Klefki cries as it flies up to the man.

"Oh, Klefki. Where did you wonder off to this time?" He asks, in a voice way to casual for the situation.

"Kle, Kle!" It cries pointing back the way it came. Alfred and Arthur quickly duck down so as not to be seen.

"Heh, always wandering off." A loud bang resonates from inside the truck, and the man turns back around to shout at the others.

"Hey! What did I tell you! Be _careful_! That's precious _cargo_ _!_ "

"We need to stop them!" Alfred whispers at Arthur.

"How? There are at least 20 of them and only the two of us. No, we need to get away and report this to the police!" Arthur whispers back.

"But! We can't just let them get away!"

"If you go out there, you'll only be putting yourself _and_ your Pokemon in danger. We need to leave. Now!" Arthur says as he begins to quietly slip back down the hill.

"But..." Alfred looks back over at the truck as the men climb out and close the doors, heading into the cars. Cobalion can still be heard crying out from inside, though now muffled by the steel walls.

"Think of Ruffy, do you really think he can take them on? They  _just_ caged a _legendary_ Pokemon, do you really think you can fight them?" Arthur reasons as he sees Alfred's reluctance to leave.

"No..." No, of course they can't take them on, but he still hates the idea of leaving. But the decision is made for them as the truck and cars drive off.

"Come on, the sooner we get back, the sooner the police can get after them."

"Right!" Alfred agrees following Arthur quickly back to town.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"And that's everything." Arthur finishes as they sit in the small towns police station.

"Alright, we'll dispatch a team to go after them right away. You boy's did the right thing." Officer Jenny says as she stands. She places a comforting hand on Alfred's shoulder. "I know it must have been hard to see that, but coming here instead of trying to stop them yourselves _was_ the right thing. Now, thanks to you, we know what happened and can track that truck." She says, trying to comfort Alfred.

"Yeah." Really it was all Arthur. He recounted every detail they saw, even the trucks registration! He even drew out the symbol for them, all Al did was sit and nod along.

"Come on, I think it's about time we turned in for the night." Arthur says once their outside.

"How can you be so calm? Aren't you worried?" Alfred's not sure if he should be angry at the way Arthur is acting so calm about this.

"Of course I am." He replies steadily, "But getting all worked up about it won't solve anything. We've done all we can, now it's in the hands of the police. They'll sort it."

"Mmmh."

"Look, there's no point in crying over spilt milk, so stop beating yourself up about it." Arthur frowns at him when he just shrugs.

Sighing Arthur smacks him up side the head.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"Better, you just don't look right with that mopey face."

"So you hit me?!"

"Got rid of it didn't it?"

"No fair!" Al calls as Arthur runs back to the center.

"Well next time listen to what I say! Haha!" He laughs as Al chases him.

Yeah, Arthur's right. No point worrying about it. And tomorrow is a new day, a new chance to do things right!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that happened, yup... What does this all mean? Who knows... well I do but that's besides the point. But on the plus side you get to find out about the boys Pokemon's nature's so yeah?
> 
> There wasn't a good place to add this in the chapter so here's a little background info.
> 
> This story takes place a good few years after all the current Pokemon games, weird multi universe theories aside. So, all the professors of the games who ask you to fill the dex or do some other errands for them, have all completed they're research from the games. Hence why Pokédex's are now complete and they’re free cause Feli is boss. As for the Pokemon nature's, it won't really have any baring on the story besides this chapter but it's there. And if you're curious, the professor to come up with the FPN test (which I totally just came up with on the spot) was professor Birch.
> 
> Remember R & R people.
> 
> Till next time, stay awesome!


	16. Day 3, Contest and Battles

"Whoa, that's, like insane!" Feliks says. The pair had recounted the events of the previous day to the two coordinators in the morning as they all got ready for the day ahead.

"I can't believe someone would even do that." Toris adds, just as shocked about the news.

"Next time, I'm, like, sticking with you guys. All the exciting things happen to you."

"This isn't something to be excited about." Arthur gripes at Feliks. Alfred is keeping his distance from him. He's learned by now, do _not_ make conversation with Arthur before his morning tea. Feliks on the other hand, seems oblivious of the dangers of a grumpy Arthur.

"Yeah, I know it's, like, horrible. But you guys still got to see a legendary Pokemon! Crappy circumstances aside, that amazing!"

"Always with the positives, Feliks." Toris shakes his head at his friend. But it's true and Feliks' positivity has really helped to boost Alfred's spirits.

"Ah! We better hurry or we'll be late." Toris cries at seeing the time.

The four pile out of the room and hurry to breakfast.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"I hope they all got through. It'd suck for them to come back and learn that they didn't make it to the second round." Al says as they sit in the contest hall audience.

"Don't worry. They all definitely made it. They were the best of the lot." Arthur says confidently from his side.

"Welcome back ladies and gentlemen, to day three of the Poké week event!" The announcer calls as he walks out on stage.

"Now, we've had many wonderful contestants, but only the best of the best can make it through to the second round. With that said, please give a warm welcome to those moving on to the next stage!"

The pair watch as the group of successful's walk out to be greeted with cheers. Both Feliks and Toris are among the group, Ivan too. The group line up and bow, before heading back stage.

"Now as is customary of the Eprus region Pokemon contests, the second stage will be a timed trial to earn points. Each coordinator will have just 2 minutes to preform and show of their Pokemon to their very best. With that said, please welcome back to the stage, Ivan!"

The crowd gives a cheer of approval at Ivan being the first out. Just like the day before, he walks out with confidence.

"Alright, Ivan your time starts, now!"

"Sunny, to the stage!" He says immediately, not waisting a single second.

The ball arcs elegantly from his throw, and his Pokemon twirls and bows as it appears, not missing a beat.

"Sunny, Petal Dance into Grass Whistle, if you would." He asks and his Pokemon is quick to comply.

"Suuun." It gives it's sing song like cries as it once again generates the petals, sending them out as high as it can. The petals all slowly flutter down to the ground as the Sunflora switches into the Grass Whistle. Bringing its leaf arms up to its face it begins a sweet whistling song. As it whistles, the Grass type Pokémon begins to prance across the stage, twirling and leaping in time with it's song. As it sings and dances, petals falling all around, Ivan begins to hum loudly together with his Sunflora, both trainer and Pokemon in perfect sync as they create a beautiful melody.

As the two minute mark nears, Ivan gives one last call to his Pokemon.

"Finish with Sunny Day."

Ending it's song, the Pokemon seamlessly transitions into the move, intensifying the sunlight to create a spotlight on the Pokemon, centre stage and surrounded by petals. The pair bow exactly as the time runs out to a huge roar of cheers.

"Whoa..."

"Yes, Ivan really knows his stuff." Arthur agrees with Alfred's awed stare.

"That's gotta be tough to follow." He says, thinking on how Feliks and Toris must be feeling the pressure. Below he can see the camera crew from before transfixed by the display. The female presenter animatedly talking to the camera.

' _I_ _wonder_ _if Ivan's the reason that they're here?_ ' Alfred ponders. He gives Arthur a sidelong glance.

' _He_ _still won't tell me why he didn't want to be on camera..._ ' For all Arthur looks relaxed, Alfred like's to think he knows him well enough now to tell otherwise. His grumpier than normal mood this morning was definitely a giveaway. Even if he won't admit it, he's still bothered about appearing on T.V again. Alfred sighs as he turns back to the stage, another contestant is starting.

' _I_ _just_ _wish he'd tell me what's bothering him so much. I mean, we're friends right? He should know he can talk to me._ ' Alfred tries to repress another sigh as he looks back over at Arthur.

' _I_ _wish_ _you wouldn't keep shutting me out..._ '

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Now, welcome back to the stage, Toris!" Alfred sits up more and claps, cheering loudly as their friend comes out. He still looks nervous but is hiding it a lot better.

"Toris, your time starts, now!"

"Golemas, let's do this!" He calls as he sends his Pokemon out. This time, Alfred is determined to watch their performance, fear or no fear, his not going to miss his friends hard work.

"Golemas, Rollout and Ice Beam, go!"

"Goo!" His Pokemon replies.

Curling into a ball, The Pokemon begins swiftly rolling around the out side of the stage, spiralling inwards. At the same time, it let's out a continuous Ice Beam, slowly covering the stage in a thin layer of ice as it goes. The light from its body, mixed with the light of the attack, reflect off the ice floor and cause the whole stage to shimmer and shine.

"Now, Stomping Tantrum!" Toris calls.

Effortlessly coming out of the Rollout the Golett begins to skate across the ice field. Rather than quickly stomping like before, it's movements this time look as if they are in slow motion, as it uses each stomp to change direction. Just as time runs out, the Pokemon comes to a stop in the middle of the stage and bows, body glowing it's brightest to maximise the shine from the ice below.

Loud applause and cheers follow the display, and Alfred can see the back of the judges heads, the scary looking one nodding in approval.

"Wonderful performance there from Toris and his Golett. Now once the stage has been cleared we'll move on to our next coordinator."

The Vaporeon from before comes out and clears the Ice with Scald.

"Now, please welcome to the stage once more, Feliks!"

"Cutie, time to so, like, blow everyone away again!" The coordinator excitedly calls as he sends out his rare pink Cutiefly once more.

"Cutie, use, like, Hidden Power!"

"Cu!"

Flying forward, the Pokemon creates orbs of energy to surround itself. Rather than forge them into one and release them like the attack normally would, the Pokemon maintains them in the early stage, keeping the balls spinning around its tiny form.

"Now Fairy Wind!" Feliks calls.

"Cuuuuuu!" It cries as the orbs are pushed out by the glistening Wind. Spiralling out the orbs burst and release energy of all types, creating shining multi coloured fireworks. As the particles all fall, they land and reflect of off the bug Pokemon, enhancing it's natural beauty. At time up, the Cutiefly lands on Feliks head like before and he bows.

The crowd cheers wildly, perhaps their loudest yet, maybe even more than for Ivan.

"That was amazing!" Al shouts along with the cheers.

"Very impressive." Arthur agrees. To hold an attack in the formation stage takes real skill.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Now, it's the time you've all been waiting for!" The announcer says after a short break after the last coordinator finished.

"The judges have reviewed their scores and now, it's time to announce who the lucky few are to move on the third and final round!" The man pauses for dramatic effect before continuing.

"Our 5 finalists are," more pausing, "Ivan, Tara, Toris, Feliks and Chloe!" Cheers go up for each name, but Alfred is just relieved they got through. But now they'll be up against Ivan for the final.

"Now as with official contests, we'll give our coordinators a day to prepare their routine for the themed battle event! This weeks theme is... Harvest!" Alfred looks to Arthur for an explanation.

"All regions have there own way of doing contests. Here in Eprus, it's a three stage process. First is the open show, were they can do whatever they feel is best to grab the judges attention. Second is the time trial, were they have a limited time to show off their Pokemon while earning points from the judges. The last stage is the themed battle. The coordinators are given a one word theme and must come up with a routine in one day to fit the theme. On the day, all the finalist compete at the same time to earn the votes of the audience and the judges votes as well."

"So, that means they'll all be on stage at the same time, trying to one up each other?"

"Essentially, yes. And like the name says, it's also a battle. The coordinators may choose to fight each other if they think that'll get them more votes, but if a Pokemon faints that also puts them out of the running."

"Sounds complicated."

"It's really not, you'll see tomorrow."

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Ah, Hello again." Ivan greets them as they enter the waiting room back stage for the second round of the tournament.

"Hey, so your through to the finals for the contest, huh?" Al asks by way of greeting.

"Yes, it should be most fun." He says smiling.

"Heh, shouldn't you be more focused on the match coming up?" Arthur asks.

"Ah, Arthur. No, I do not think I need to be too concerned. Everyone here is very weak." He shrugs.

"Oh, you wouldn't be including **_me_ ** in that would you? Or would you like me to remind you _just_ what I can do? Hmm?" Arthur challenges, smirking.

Alfred shivers, suddenly feeling _very_ wary of Arthur.

"Oh, no. I wouldn't consider _you_ weak. I rather like my head on my shoulders." Ivan says, raising his hands in a placating manner.

Alfred's not sure if he's being serious or sarcastic. He's beginning to see that the pair have a very passive aggressive friendship, if you can call it that.

"No, I didn't think so." Arthur says still smirking.

_'I_ _hate_ _this, are they joking around or not? It's freaking me out!_ '

"Alfred and Arthur? It's almost time for you two." The announcer calls into the room, ending the pairs talks.

"Don't lose~" Ivan calls after them as they head out.

"Please welcome back to the field, Alex and Sarah. And their opponents, Alfred and Arthur!" The announcer calls as they walk out, crowd cheering.

Across from them two teens who look to be brother and sister stand as their opponents.

"Freedom, time to shine!"

"Ruff!" The Pokemon cries, excited for another battle as it flies down.

"Torch, to battle."

"Lam!" The ghost Pokemon calls, looking determined to win.

Alfred can't help but be impressed, it's like the Pokemon has a completely different personality when battling.

The teens smile wickedly at each other before sending out their Pokemon.

"Go, Gigalith." The girl says.

"Go, Nidoking!" The boy calls.

As soon as the Gigalith appears, it glows slightly and a sandstorm suddenly fills the hall, it's ability activating.

"Giiiiiggggaaaa!"

"Niiiooodddooo!"

The Pokemon both roar, stomping on the ground in a display of strength, and causing the room to shake slightly from their weight and power. Both large Pokemon are easily more than double the size of their own Pokemon. Alfred won't admit it, but he's a bit worried. A Rock type and a Poison and Ground type aren't the best match up for them, especially that Gigalith with it's Sand Stream ability now active making it difficult to see their opponents. He glances to Arthur but the man doesn't seem worried in the least, in fact he's smirking. He catches his eye and Arthur must know what he's thinking as he smiles confidently and says, "Don't worry. Just stick to the plan."

Nodding Al turns his attention back to the field.

"Begin!" The Ref calls and the battle starts, full force from the very beginning.

"Gigalith, Attract on Rufflet!"

"Nidoking, Venoshock on Lampent." The pair call simultaneously.

"Ruffy, look out!" Al calls, but in the sandstorm it's difficult to see where the attack is coming from.

"Torch, dodge that!" He hears Arthur call beside him.

In the blinding sandstorm Rufflet flies up in hopes to get away from the attack, but is caught off guard as the Attract is delivered from directly below. With no time to react the attack lands, pink love hearts surrounding and being absorbed into Rufflet. The effect of the move taking hold, Rufflet now suddenly infatuated with the Gigalith.

At the same time Lampent remains still after Arthur's call, waiting until the last second to act. The move pays off, as the pair see the approaching toxic spray of the attack and Torch effortlessly moves out of it's trajectory.

"Ruffy!" Al calls to his Pokemon but get's no response from the love struck bird.

"Hehe, good news bro, the birds a boy."

"Perfect."

They can just about hear the pair say across the field.

"Our turn. Torch, let's get them back for that shall we? Confuse Ray on Gigalith." Arthur says calmly, but Al can hear the dangerous edge to his voice and is suddenly very grateful that he's on his side.

"Lampent!"

Using the low visibility to his advantage, the Pokemon disappears into the storm, reappearing somewhere above the Rock Pokemon.

"Gigalith, Protect, quick!" The girl calls but is too slow.

"Laaam!" It cries as it sends shining waves of light out at the Pokemon causing the Gigalith to become confused.

"Nidoking, Venoshock again!" The boy calls, taking advantage of the closeness of Torch.

"Ruffy, get in there and help! Use Wing Attack on the Nidoking, please!" Al begs.

Thankfully the call is heard, and, despite the effects of the Attract, Rufflet moves to attack.

"Grr, Gigalith, Smack Down on Rufflet!" The girl shouts.

"Dodge Torch!" Arthur calls to add to the mix.

Lampent swiftly moves back and up to get away but the Nidoking is faster. Moving forward, the Poison Pokemon fires a Venoshock again, this time landing it's target in a toxic mass of purple poison.

"La!" Torch cries as he's hit, forced backwards by the force and sting of the poison. At the same time, Rufflet moves in to attack but, like Alfred was, it's trainer got lucky as her call gets through to her Pokemon. The Gigalith, though still confused, manages to fire of the small stone of the attack at Rufflet. Too focused on attacking, Ruffy doesn't see the rock coming and Alfred's own view is obscured by the still raging sandstorm. Just as Rufflet connects it's Wing Attack, the stone hits it. The Nidoking is pushed back slightly by the attack, but is saved from the brunt of it by the Smack Down knocking Rufflet out of the air.

Now, with both their Pokemon on the ground and reeling from the attacks, their opponents don't waste any time taking advantage of the opening.

"Gigalith, Protect now!"

"Nidoking, Earthquake!"

However, the pair are not as lucky as before. Hoping that her call would get through again or simply forgetting the confusion, either way the girl realises her mistake, as rather than protect itself, her Pokemon shakes it's head and charges into the nearby wall.

Either not realising the situation or simply wanting to go ahead anyway, the boy makes no move to stop his Nidoking.

"Niiii!" It cries as it stomps heavily on the ground, causing shock waves to spread out in all directions.

"Quick, Ruffy, get up!" Al calls but to no avail, the Attract's effects blocking his call from being heard.

"Giiii!" The Rock Pokemon cries as, after injuring itself in it's confusion, it is now hit by it's partners attack.

"Torch, up now, and grab Ruffy!" Arthur calls quickly as the Earthquake is launched.

"Laa!" It cries, quickly floating back up into the air and swooping down to pick Rufflet up and safely away from the ground attack.

"Phew, thanks."

"Heh, you didn't think I'd just let you get hit did you?" Arthur questions, smirking again, "Now, let's deal with this pair."

"But how? Ruffy is still under the Attract, and we can't switch to free him. Plus," He says as he looks to the storm, "this sandstorm is still going. I don't know how much more of this Ruffy can take."

He knows he should trust his Pokemon, but their position isn't looking good, and their Pokemon are both constantly taking damage from the storm. He watches as Arthur too looks to the sandstorm.

"Yes, that Gigalith must have a Smooth Rock."

"A what?"

"A Smooth Rock, it increases the duration of Sandstorms. That must be why the storm hasn't cleared yet." He explains, looking back out to the field.

"But don't worry. Just look at Gigalith." There's that smirk again.

Looking through the storm, Alfred can see the Pokemon is struggling to remain standing. Behind it, their opponents look to be arguing, the girl waving her arms about at the boy and his Pokemon.

Ah, now Alfred understands. The Gigalith took major damage from the Earthquake, the Ground type move being super effective against it's Rock typing. And the move seems to have damaged the pair of trainers cooperation.

"Ready?"

"Yeah!"

"Torch, throw Rufflet at Gigalith." He says, as calm as ever.

For a moment, Alfred is worried by the move, but he knows Arthur. He wouldn't do anything to harm Freedom. So he'll trust him and go along with his plan.

"Ruffy! Peck!" He calls as his Pokemon is thrown at their opponent.

"Ru?" It questions before obeying, his call making it through.

With the added speed from the throw, the attack force is increased as the move hits, dead centre of the Rock Pokemon's body.

"Torch, Energy Ball."

"Laaa!"

As Rufflet backs away after landing its hit, Torch, using its ghost typing to its advantage, passes straight through Rufflet and quickly forms and releases the Grass type attack at point blank range.

"Giiiiiii..." The Rock Pokemon cries as the Energy Ball explodes on contact, and drops to the ground, fainted.

"Gigalith is no longer able to battle." The Ref calls.

"Whaaa?! This is all your fault!" The girl cries, recalling her Pokemon and turning her anger on her partner.

"Not my fault you messed up. _Relax_ , I'll win this." The boy says as he turns away from the irate girl.

"Hmph! You better!" She huffs childishly.

Now, without the Gigalith and it's Smooth Rock, the sandstorm finally subsides. Rufflet is also finally released from the effects of the Attract.

"Nidoking, Venoshock on Rufflet."

"Ruffy, dodge!"

"Torch, Energy Ball once more."

As the Nidoking moves forward it launches another toxic spray of poison, this time aimed at Rufflet. Without the sandstorm to obscure their view, Ruffy easily flies up and away, dodging the attack. At the same time, Torch moves forward passed Rufflet and begins to form another Energy Ball. Once Ruffy is safely out of the way, Lampent fires the ball at the Nidoking.

"Ah! Nidoking dodge and use Disable!"

The Pokemon responds quickly, just barely avoiding the ball attack and turns towards Lampent, eye's glowing blue as it fixes the ghost with it's gaze.

Nothing much seems to happen, besides Torch halting in the air for a moment before moving back to a safe distance from their opponent.

But Alfred knows this may be a problem, now Arthur is restricted in the moves he can have Torch use. Not that they let this stop them.

"Ruffy, Wing Attack!"

"Grr, I've had enough! Nidoking Giga Impact on Rufflet." The boy calls without warning.

"Ah! Ruffy get away!" Al calls panicked. There's no way they can take such a strong attack.

Rufflet had begun it's Wing Attack when Al changed his command to dodging. Swooping low, Ruffy uses the momentum from the spool up of the Wing Attack to increase it's speed to get away. However, it's not enough.

"Ruffy!" Al calls as he's helpless but to watch as the Nidoking quickly closes in.

"Torch!" He hears Arthur call.

Knowing it's trainers intentions, Lampent quickly moves to intercept the attack, shoving Rufflet out of the way at the last second. Alfred watches as the Nidoking, wrapped in the energy waves of the Giga Impact, passes straight through Lampent and the attack ends. Now, even though the attack had no effect, it did hit, so the Nidoking must recharge, leaving it open to attack. Alfred and Arthur glance at each other and nod, smiling. This match is as good as won.

"Ruffy, Wing Attack one more time!"

"Torch, get in close and use Inferno!"

Both Pokemon, much like their trainers share a look before moving in together. From the right, Rufflet lands a solid hit from it's Wing Attack. From the left, Lampent appears and generates a large ball of fire, forcing it upon the Nidoking.

"Niiii..." It cries at being hit simultaneously, fainting.

"Nidoking is no longer able to battle, Rufflet and Lampent win. The match goes to Alfred and Arthur!" The Referee calls loudly, queueing the audience to give out a roar of cheers at the win.

"Yeah! We did it!" Al cries happily as he once more does a dance of celebration, pulling Rufflet into the now customary victory hug.

"Lamp!"

"Very well done boy." Arthur praises, petting his Pokemon on the head.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Ah, a most interesting match." Is the first thing Ivan says as they come back to the waiting room.

" _Nah_ , that was easy, right, Iggy?"

"Dear _God_ , for the love of Pokemon, will you **_please_ ** stop calling me that?!" Arthur cries, putting his head in his hands at the return of the nickname.

"Iggy?" Ivan questions, confused.

" _Don't_ ask _._ " Arthur groans as he drops down into a seat. Ivan chuckles at Arthur's clear signs of distress towards the name.

"Hehe, very well then." He concedes.

It isn't long before Ivan and his sister are up. Their Ice Pokemon once again making quick work of their opponents. The pair using what Alfred is quickly beginning to think is their signature move, the double Blizzard.

By the days end their positions are clear, if both he and Arthur, and Ivan and his sister win tomorrow, they'll face each other in the final and Alfred can't wait.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

_"_ _Torch_ _, get in close and use Inferno!"_

The trio sitting on the couch all lean in close as they watch the T.V screen.

_"_ _Nidoking_ _is no longer able to battle, Rufflet and Lampent win. The match goes to Alfred and Arthur!"_

The three gasp, the eldest letting out a loud cheer, whilst the youngest bounces up and down in his seat. The last one is much more reserved, simply nodding in approval, the pride in their eyes clear to see. Behind them a fourth member enters.

"Aww, don't tell me I missed it!" He cries as he hurries over.

"Hehe, sorry but your too late." Alistair laughs, causing the new arrival to frown in disappointment.

"Yeah, it was soooo cool! Arthur's amazing! Why'd he ever leave?" Peter asks. The three elders look between each other, unsure what to say.

"He just had too." Alistair finally settles on, not wanting to go into their rebel brothers reasoning. He doesn't think he can.

For now, they'll wait and see what their brother will do. If he decides to now finally come home, they'll be waiting.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this chapter just didn't want to end. I couldn't find a good place to split it, so you get an extra long chapter this time.
> 
> So let's see... Bit about how the contests work? Check. Russia's beautiful singing voice? Check. Lithuania and Poland being awesome coordinators? Check. And finally awesome battle scene? Check. Okay I think we're all good. And a look at things from Arthur's brothers again.
> 
> Also, it isn't mentioned in the chapter but the Nidoking's ability here is Rivalry, which makes attack stronger against those of the same gender. So, males. Which is why you hear that bit about Rufflet being a boy as a good thing to them. Just thought some of you might be interested, this is kinda stuff that goes into planning these battles, even if you don't get it all in chapter, so there you go.
> 
> Oh, and I forgot last time cause I'm way too spacey, the nickname of Toris' Golett, Golemas is (hopefully) Lithuanian for Golem.
> 
> Remember I live off of reviews!
> 
> Till next time, stay awesome!


	17. Tournament semifinal

"Harvest, harvest... Oh, what I'm I going to do?"

Al watches as Toris paces back and forth between the beds of their tiny room. He's been worrying about the battle event theme ever since they got back and barely slept last night. Feliks on the other hand, seems to be completely unfazed by the display.

"Uh, Toris?"

Alfred's worried questioning from his bunk goes unnoticed by the pacing teen.

"Don't bother, T is always like this when we get the theme." Feliks lazily replies as he lies on his side on his bed. Al can see him following his friend's movements with his eyes, but makes no move to stop the pacing.

Just when he thinks he can't take the pacing anymore, the room door opens and Arthur returns. Up early as always and, judging by his chipper demeanour, has had his morning tea. Without a word of explanation, he walks right up to Toris, turning him around to face him and, when Toris opens his mouth to speak, finds it suddenly full. Arthur, in all his wisdom, for some reason has shoved some sort of flat round food into the teens mouth. Alfred watches with a weird mix of anticipation and trepidation as Toris' eyes widen, teeth half sunk into the food, he waves his arms, a bit unsure of what to do, before he finally takes a bite and holds the rest out, giving it a look of surprise. The teen chews slowly at first, before apparently deciding that the food is okay and swallows.

"This is..." He says, staring at the pastry.

"A Chorley cake." Arthur says looking quite pleased with himself.

"I've never heard of it before."

"It's an old family recipe."

"It's good." Toris says before taking another bite.

Before Alfred can say anything, he's forced to scramble to catch the small cake that Arthur throws up at him, he also sees him give one to Feliks. Alfred let's out a quiet sigh of relief as he takes a bite. ' _Oh_ _, Good it's a pastry._ ' Alfred has learned by now that Arthur _really_ can't cook, numerous burnt and bland meals have told him that much. But he _can_ bake, _really_ well too.

"Now that you've eaten, feel any better?" He hears Arthur ask below him.

Toris nods as he finishes off the cake.

"Great! Now we can get to work on our routines!" Feliks suddenly cries as he jumps out of bed to latch onto his friend.

"Ah, Yes. Sorry, I've been worrying about it so much that I haven't even thought of something to do."

"Chill, it'll be fine. Here's what we're gonna do. First, we'll go into town and do some shopping. While we shop we can brainstorm ideas for the final. I know you'll figure something _amazing_ out, you always do. Then, we can go work on our routines and so totally beat Ivan in the contest." Feliks effortlessly decides.

"Ah, I wish I could have as much confidence as you." Toris sighs but he smiles and nods, "But you're right. Worrying won't get me anywhere, better to be proactive."

"Totally. So what are you two gonna do?"

"Oh, um, I don't know. Arthur?"

"I think we should make a plan for our next battle. We know who we're up against, and we've both seen how they fight. The logical thing to do would be to prepare." Arthur reasons.

"Sure."

"Aright, we'll see you guy's later. We'll so totally be cheering for you."

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

A few hours later and they’re once again at the contest hall, coming out to fight in the semifinals. Alfred is practically beaming, Arthur's plan is perfect, they'll never see it coming.

"Please Welcome our first pair of semifinalists, Freya and Blanche, and their opponents, Alfred and Arthur!"

Alfred doesn't waste any time coming out as soon as their names are called. Even Rufflet is clearly excited as he flies about in the air above the pair. Across from them, their opponents are also making their way out, a young girl, no older than 8, happily bounces out onto the field. Beside her, a much more serious looking young woman follows.

"Freedom! Time to shine!" Al calls and watches as his energetic Pokemon drops to the ground, ready to win.

"Torch, to battle." Arthur calls, smirking as his Pokemon is let out.

"Laaaampent!"

"Hehe, soooo cooool! Vulpix let's have some fun!" The girl giggles as she sends out her Pokemon.

"Ninetales, let's go." The woman says as she releases her Pokemon onto the field. Both Fire types stand ready to battle.

"Begin!"

"Ruffy, Leer!" Alfred calls the instant the battle starts.

"Torch, Hex on Ninetales." Arthur joins in.

"Ru!" Taking to the air, Rufflet fixes it's gaze upon the pair, lowering both Fire Pokemon's Defense. At the same time, Lampent moves up and, eye's glowing purple, sends a glare at the Ninetales, causing waves of ghost type energy to engulf the Pokemon.

"Waaa!" The girl cries, taken by surprise at how quickly the pair attacked.

"Tch, Ninetales, Sunny Day! Freya, don't just stand there." The woman calls, griping to the girl for her lack of action.

"Oh, right! Vulpix, Flame Burst on Ninetales." She finally calls, remembering what to do.

As the Ninetales raises it's head and tails, the sunlight grows in strength, shining down on the battle field. At the same time the Vulpix moves to the side and turns on the Ninetales, releasing a ball of fire from it's mouth and firing it at it's partner. As the ball makes contact, it explode and small pieces bounce off in all directions, some hitting the Vulpix. But rather than the two taking damage, they both absorb the flames, their Fire type attacks power increasing by half in the process thanks to their Flash Fire abilities. Alfred smiles, knowing what's coming next and is ready to act.

"Now, Ninetales, Flamethrower on Lampent."

"Vulpix, Will-O-Wisp on the bird!" The pair call as soon as they gained the power boost.

"Ruffy, Now!" Al calls in time with their opponents.

As the pair of Fire Pokemon make their move, Rufflet dives down behind Lampent.

"Torch, block that with Inferno!" Arthur calls out as Rufflet seeks shelter.

As both the Will-O-Wisp and Flamethrower quickly approach Lampent, it creates the flames of the Inferno and pushes them out to intercept the attack. As the flames all collide, they explode and cancel each other out, creating a huge dust cloud.

"Ruffy, Wing Attack on Ninetales, go!"

"Torch, Energy Ball on Ninetales!"

Through the dust both Rufflet and an Energy Ball emerge and easily land two solid attacks on the Ninetales.

"Niiinnee." It whines at being hit.

Alfred smiles bright and he can see Arthur smirking too. Things are going just as they planned.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

_"_ _Alright_ _, so here's the plan. Our opponents in each of their matches have always used the same tactics to win. So we'll use that to our advantage."_

_Arthur_ _explains as they stand out in a field just outside of town. Behind him, Alfred can see Toris and Feliks working on their routines._

_"_ _Really_ _? How do you know they won't change it up this time?" He asks, knowing that repetitive battle strategies make you predictable and easily to beat. Training with Arthur and his battles with Yao taught him that much._

_"_ _Heh_ _, simple, because one of our opponents is a child." He smirks and Alfred knows that look by now. It's Arthur's 'I know I'm going to win' look. But even if Arthur thinks this explains everything, Alfred sure doesn't._

_Sighing Arthur continues, "The little girl of the pair. If you'd have payed attention to their battles, you would have noticed that_ _she_ _does whatever the woman tells her to do. Their battle strategy is preplanned, the girl is too young to own her own Pokémon or to make informed decisions in the heat of the moment. So they must have worked out a single plan to win all their battles with. A child that young would have too much difficulty memorising multiple battle plans so, they must only have one."_

_"_ _Oh_ _, yeah that makes sense. But how do you plan for us to beat them then? After all, their plan must be working to have made it this far."_

_"_ _Isn't_ _it obvious? We break down their plan. Without the woman to keep her right, the girl will be completely lost."_

_"_ _Oooh!_ _Yeah_ _I get it now."_

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Tsk, Flamethrower again!"

"Aaah, Uh, Will-O-Wisp again too!" Their opponents call and it's like déjà vu, as the exact same thing as before happens, dodge, fire ball, explosion, dust cloud and, "Wing Attack!"

"Energy Ball." Just like before both attacks hit and the Ninetales is left reeling, barely able to remain standing. Just one more hit and it'll be finished.

"Alfred, if you would." Arthur smirks as he waves his hand out to the field.

"Sure, Ruffy, finish it with your strongest Peck!"

"Ruff!" Descending rapidly it comes in for the attack.

"Grr, Ninetales! Dodge and Feint Attack on that annoying Lampent!" The woman bellows, clearly frustrated.

Despite it's weakened state, the fire Pokemon moves at speed, avoiding Rufflet's incoming attack and rapidly approaches Lampent. Just before it reaches it, the Ninetales vanishes and reappears behind Torch, delivering a powerful kick with it's hind legs. Lampent is sent flying across the field, taking major damage from the super effective move.

"Ah!" Alfred gasps at the hit. This isn't good, the woman is going off plan, now they can't predict their moves! Plus, Torch...

"I know, but your fine." Alfred blinks as he hears Arthur mumbling next to him, looking over he only becomes more confused at seeing Arthur's eyes closed.

"Haha! Take that! Ninetales, again!" The woman shouts, completely ignoring the poor girl who no longer knows what she is supposed to do.

"Ar-"

"Energy Ball, into the ground, now."

Alfred watches in surprise as, even though Arthur's voice was barely above a whisper and Lampent is halfway across the field, Torch response as if he hears the call as clear as day. Forming and forcing the ball into the ground to create a dust cloud for cover, Lampent is able to dodge the attack and comes out the top of the cloud, safe. Arthur smiles and nods and, without him even saying so, Torch let's of another Energy Ball into the cloud.

"Niiiinnneee..." The Pokemon's cry can be heard along with a quiet thump. As the dust clears, the Ninetales is revealed, fainted from that last Energy Ball.

"Ninetales is no longer able to battle."

"Ggggrrrhhh!" The woman grumbles angrily as she recalls her Pokemon.

Now, only the poor girl remains.

"Ah! Now what do I do?" She cries.

"Call an attack dummy." The woman huffs.

"Oh, um, uh..."

Not waiting for the girl to get a hold of the situation Arthur begins the final stage of their plan.

"Torch, Confuse Ray." Arthur says, speaking at a normal volume again.

Without it's trainer telling it what to do, the Vulpix is helpless as it's hit with the attack becoming confused.

"Ah! Oh, no..." Alfred kinda feels bad as he can see the girl start to cry. But now's not the time for that so he joins Arthur to finish this quickly.

"Ruffy, Leer."

Defense now lowered for a second time and the Sunny Day wearing off, the pair give their final commands of the battle.

"Ruffy, Wing Attack!"

"Torch, Energy Ball."

Both attacks make contact with the poor confused Pokemon at the same time, defeating it.

"Vuuulll..."

"Vulpix is on longer able to battle. Rufflet and Lampent win, the match goes to Alfred and Arthur!"

The cheers go up, but they're quieter this time than before and Alfred can't help but feel bad. The woman showed no care for her partner and they willingly took advantage of that. He blinks as he sees Arthur walk out across the field to meet their opponents, before he quickly follows, wondering what Arthur is up to.

Kneeling before the girl he smiles, "You we're very good out there." He says gently as Alfred stands behind them watching.

"No you weren't, don't lie to her! She was useless." The woman angrily refutes, but Arthur ignores her.

"Freya, isn't it?" He continues to softly ask the sniffling girl. She nods tearily.

"Y-yeah."

"Do you know what I think? I think you'll be a _wonderful_ young trainer someday."

"R-really?" She asks, looking up and sounding hopeful. Arthur smiles kindly at her.

"Really. Here." He says offering her his hands.

She looks unsure for a moment before taking them. He then picks her up and swings her around to sit on his shoulders as he stands. And Alfred smiles as he watches Arthur walk out to the field and face the audience. Smiling brightly, Arthur calls out, "Everyone, please give a cheer for our _wonderful_ young opponent, Freya!"

The crowd whoops and cheers their loudest yet of the whole week. Al joins in right along side them as he claps and cheers for the girl, the audience standing and all clapping for her as well. Tears long forgotten, Freya now smiles brightly as she waves to the crowd. Out of the corner of his eye, Alfred can see the camera trained on the pair, the reported talking animatedly as she waves her hand out at the pair.

' _Okay_ _, so the battle may not have been the best ever, but this sure makes up for it._ ' Alfred knows, he'll never forget this.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big brother Arthur for the win. And Arthur's cooking makes a reappearance. The fandom seems to forget that England is actually said to be good at baking, just not cooking so there you go, legit fact's here people. And what's up with Arthur's battling here? Who knows...
> 
> Stay tuned for next time, the final contest and battle. Who will win?
> 
> Reviews are nice, so please?
> 
> Till next time, stay awesome!


	18. Contest final

This is it, the final day for the contest and tournament. In their room, the four friends are focused on the challenge ahead.

"I can't believe we're both up against Ivan." Toris says as he gathers his things. The two coordinators had been working on their routines till well past sunset, trying to prefect every single movement until they could no longer improve.

Alfred and Arthur for their part had been planning out multiple strategies to take on Ivan and his sister.

"It just goes to show how good of a trainer he is." Arthur says. It's meant come off as a passive remark, but the four know that the statement holds much truth.

"So we just have to beat him and prove he isn't as good as he likes to think!" Al proclaims, trying to ease the tension in the room.

"Like, totally!"

"Of course."

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back our contest finalists, Ivan, Tara, Toris, Feliks and Chloe!" The announcer calls excitedly as the 5 walk out.

Toris is barely handling his nerves, even Feliks looks nervous out there, though that could be because he's now stuck between 3 strangers. The coordinators had mentioned that they were yet to speak to the other 3, especially Ivan. Alfred couldn't understand why they would be so afraid to talk to him, but now, seeing Ivan out on stage, Al can see the intimidating air he's giving off.

"Coordinators, you will have just 5 minutes to preform your routines, showing off your Pokemon while out doing your fellow contestants. And remember, extra points will be awarded for those who best show off in line with today's theme of harvest! With that being said, coordinators take your position."

With that, the announcer moves off stage as the coordinators move out to the 5 marked points on stage, forming a semicircle facing the audience. Once in position the trainers take up a pose and the lights are once again dimmed. Alfred holds his breath waiting for them to begin. Ivan on the far left, frozen in mid bow. The girl Tara to his left, curtsying. Toris in the centre, hand over his heart as if he were taking an oath, Pokéball in hand. Feliks to his side, arms spread wide, an easy smile plastered on his face. And the young woman Chloe, frozen in a half spin.

"Begin!"

As soon as the call is given all 5 begin to move, as if someone had simply hit un-pause on them all. Ivan completes his bow, sending out his Sunflora as he straightens. Tara, much the same as Ivan, completes her movement and sends out her Pokemon, a Fletchinder. Toris casts his arm out in front of him, releasing his Golett from the ball clutched in his hand. Feliks throws his arms up in the air and his Cutiefly appears seemingly out of nowhere. Chloe jumps and spins, sending out a Diglett.

Alfred stares questioningly at the Pokemon, as he can see they are wearing some sort of accessories.

"What's with all the clothes?" He whispers to Arthur.

"It's part of the themed battle. The coordinators can choose to dress their Pokemon with accessories and other adornments."

"Oh."

Looking back to the field, Al takes a closer look at the Pokemon. Ivan's Sunflora looks to be wearing some sort of body paint, it's leaves have been darkened and patches of golds and reds can be seen. The petals of it's head have also been given attention, they now have the look of a flower at the peek of bloom, ready to be picked. The whole look gives a feeling of an autumn harvest. The Fletchinder has been groomed and darker feathers seem to have been added, along with it holding a small branch of berries in its mouth. Golett appears to be wearing a garland of autumn flowers and brown leaves, its feet slightly muddy as if it had been walking through a field. Cutiefly too is holding a beautiful orange flower. The Diglett on the other hand doesn't appear to be wearing anything special. But he doesn't have much time to question it further as the 5 begin the battle.

"Sunny, Sunny Day if you would."

"Fletchinder, Acrobatics!"

"Golemas, Mud-Slap across the field!"

"Cutie, Fairy Wind!"

"Diglett, Earth Power!"

The first calls go out and the Pokemon quickly follow. As the fastest of the lot, Diglett is the first to get it's move off, causing powerful mini eruptions to surround it. Fletchinder is quick to follow, flying up and about, preforming many intricate loops and somersaults as it shows off it's aerial prowess. At the same time Cutiefly moves forward and sends out a beautiful pink glistening wind. Golett joins in, creating mud in it's hands and tossing it out over the stage before it. Finally Sunflora simply leans back gracefully and causes the sunlight to intensify on only it, creating a spotlight and effortlessly drawing attention to itself over the others.

The woman seems to grow annoyed with this and turns on Ivan.

"Diglett, Mud Bomb on Sunflora!"

"Sunny, dodge and use Petal Dance."

Turning the Diglett generates a large ball of mud and fires it at Sunflora. Even when attacking the move seems graceful, as the ball arcs through the air. Sunflora effortlessly dodges by side stepping the attack, twirling as it goes creating a shield of petals from any further attacks.

"Golemas, Rollout."

"Fletchinder, Flame Charge!"

"Cutie, Draining Kiss on Diglett!" Alfred's surprise that Feliks would decide to attack another, rather than stick to just showing of his Pokemon.

"Diglett, Protect!"

As Cutiefly moves down to attack, the Diglett quickly raises an all round barrier, preventing the Cutiefly from landing the hit. However, Cutie uses the barrier to it's advantage and releases the kiss on it, causing the attack to burst in a flurry of pink, helping to highlight it's natural rare colouration. Meanwhile Golett jumps into the Rollout and covers itself in the mud from before and leaving straight trenches in it's wake.

"Now, Golemas spin!"

Toris catches everyone off guard by having his Pokemon spin on the spot still using the Rollout. As a result of the high speed spinning, the mud it had picked up is thrown off in all directions.

"Quick, Cutie, Dodge!"

Being so small, Cutiefly is able to fly around the mud, making it look natural with it's fluid movements. Sunflora's petal shield takes the hit from the mud, petals dissipating on contact. Both the girls Pokemon however are not so lucky and are quickly covered in the mud.

"Gah! Grr, Diglett, Earthquake!" The woman calls in anger.

"Sunny, dodge and use Solar Beam on Diglett!"

"Ah!" Toris cries as the stage is shaken by the Ground type Pokémon and Golett is hit. As the attack begins, Sunflora quickly jumps up and uses Golett's head as a stepping stone to jump even higher. But once in the air.

"Fletchinder, use Me First on Diglett, now!"

Before Sunny can fire off it's attack the bird glows as it copies the move and launches a Solar Beam of it's own at Diglett, no time to charge needed thanks to the strong sunlight of the Sunny Day. With this, two Solar Beams, one after the other hit the Diglett and it faints.

"Ohhh, Diglett is down. Now only four of our contestants remain." The announcer says from somewhere off to the side.

"Cutie, Stun Spore!" Feliks suddenly calls, taking advantage of the distraction.

His Pokemon is quick to act, releasing a cloud of the spores out over the field.

"Golemas, Ice Beam!"

"Sunny, Petal Dance."

"Fletchinder, dodge!"

Aiming the beam straight up, Golett is freezes the spores as they descend, neutralising them while Sunflora uses a fast moving Petal Dance to blow the spores away. As the spores are blown about the Fletchinder is unable to dodge and is Paralysed, dropping to the ground.

"Ah, Fletchinder, Quick eat the berries!" The girl calls.

"Keep it up Golemas!"

"Hidden Power, Cutie!"

"Show off your beauty, Sunny."

As the bird lies on the ground it eats some of the berries from the branch in it's mouth. While it eats, Golett continues to use Ice Beam, now aimed at the field to build ice sculptures around it. Like for the second round, Cutiefly creates and holds the orbs of the Hidden Power at their formation stage, using their light to draw attention to itself. Sunflora also uses the petals from it's attack to spin and create a gentle feeling as they fall.

Suddenly the Fletchinder is back up, no longer Paralysed thanks to the Cheri Berries it ate.

"Now, Natural Gift on Sunflora!" The girl calls out.

Drawing power from the remaining berries, the bird sends an orb of fire power at the Grass Pokemon.

"Dodge and use Grass Whistle!"

"Let's go, Cutie!"

"Stomping Tantrum!"

Sunflora dodges, the orb misses and explodes behind the Pokemon and Sunflora breaks into a beautiful melody. Cutiefly releases the orbs around it out to explode in a multicoloured firework display as Golett quickly stomps on the ice, finishing it's art.

"And that's time!" The announcer calls, ending the contest, "My, that was an intense battle. But now is the time to decide on our winner. Ladies and gentlemen, beneath your seat you'll find a remote with 5 coloured buttons on it. Please use this to deliver your vote, remember you only get one, so pick the coordinator you thought did best out there. Vote green, for Ivan. Vote red, for Tara. Vote blue, for Toris and vote white for Feliks. Sadly, Chloe was knocked out of the competition so please only vote for these four."

With that said the audience quickly get to voting. Alfred's not sure who to vote for, he feels bad choosing either of his friends over the other. Al looks to Arthur to ask, but he sees him have no trouble making his choice.

"I can't choose." He complains.

"Well, you best decide quick or your vote won't be counted." Arthur warns.

Hearing that he doesn't have long, Al quickly makes his choice, feelings of favouritism put aside for the moment.

"Alright, times up! The votes are in, so let's see how they did." The announcer consults the up until now, unused screen at the back of the stage to show the results. A bar slowly fills up for each of them, surprisingly Ivan and Feliks are tied, with Toris a close second and Tara not far behind.

"Now for the judges votes, which each count as 5."

The bars rise, a vote each to Ivan, Toris and Feliks.

"And finally, the scores for best keeping with the theme!"

It's agonising as Alfred watches, willing the bars to rise. 7 points go to Toris, 5 to Ivan, 3 to Feliks and 1 to Tara. It's close, only a single point difference but amazingly, Toris wins.

Alfred stares, they all do, amazed at the close victory before all hell breaks loose and the crowd goes wild with cheers and shouts, all quickly standing to give their praise. On stage Toris seems just as shocked as he continues to stare at the score board.

"Well, it looks like we have our winners, Toris and his wonderful Golett!" The announcer cries over the noise. The crowd quickly settling to let him continue.

"Judges, care to share your thoughts on this?" Alfred can see the three nod.

"Yes," The first, Mr. Wick says, "Though it was a tough decision, we believe Toris here was simply the better contender this time. Toris, you remained calm throughout the battle and, you stayed true to the theme above all else." He says, nodding to the ice sculptures. The mud strips acting as the field, ice flowers and plants sprout from the stage, ready to be harvested.

"Indeed," Nurse Joy adds, "you used your Pokemon's skills to create a wonderful harvest scene while also remaining focused on the battle around you."

"Even though all the other's had turned to using direct attacks on each other, you stayed true to your plan, and it shows." The last judge, Mr. Oxenstierna, praises.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

Contest over, the hall is cleared to prepare for the up coming final. Before their battle, Alfred and Arthur go to congratulate their friends.

"Toris!" Al calls, waving to the pair as they meet them outside.

"A-ah, Hello, Alfred." Poor guy looks shellshocked.

"Hey, Al, Art!" Feliks calls happily as they walk up, Arthur groans at the nickname but says nothing, not wanting to spoil the mood.

"Dudes! That. Was. Amazing!"

"Hehe, I know, right? We were, like, so totally on fire out there! An T even beat Ivan!"

"I know!"

The pair continue to gush. Beside them Arthur quietly walks Toris away.

"But just remember, we've kept up our end. Now you guys, like, so totally _have_ to beat Ivan. That'll show him!"

"Yeah!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's the contest done, now for the final battle. Oh, Ivan is going to be extra hard now after this loss. Who did you think was going to win? But man, that was hard to write, but I got there in the end so woo!
> 
> Next time, Ivan and Natalia vs. Alfred and Arthur! Who will win? Stay tuned!
> 
> Reviews are love!
> 
> Till next time, stay awesome!


	19. Tournament final

"Alfred and Arthur, it's almost time." The announcer says as he pops his head back stage. Out on the field, the other two semifinalists are finishing up to decide third place.

"Ready?" Arthur asks as they stand waiting to go out.

"Yup!"

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our tag team battle tournament finalists, Ivan and Natalia, and their opponents, Alfred and Arthur!"

Hearing the call the pair walk out, across from them they can see Ivan and his sister coming out as well. Ivan is smiling casually but his sister looks completely serious.

"Freedom, time to shine!"

"Torch, to battle."

As they send out their Pokemon Alfred can see a flickering in Ivan's facial expression, becoming slightly more serious but still smiling.

"It's time to have some fun, Snowy."

"Help big brother win, Frost!"

Alfred watches as the two powerful Ice types come out, Ivan's Abomasnow and Natalie's Walrein.

"Aaabooomaaa!" The Pokemon cries as it's ability, Snow Warning, actives, causing Hail to begin falling on the stage.

"Ruuu..." Rufflet cries, not liking the weather change.

"Brrr! Yeah, I'm with you Ruffy, I hate the cold!" Al complains as he pulls his jacket closer around him.

"Ah, What is the matter Alfred, you cannot take the cold hmm?" Ivan questions from across the field, tilting his head and putting on an innocent smile.

"Don't let him get you worked up. Remember the plan, don't give them anything." Arthur reminds from his side.

Al looks to him and nods, even though Arthur only has his cloak to protect him, he doesn't pull it closer, despite the fact Alfred can see him shivering slightly.

"Begin!"

"Ruffy, Leer!"

"Torch, Confuse Ray on Abomasnow."

Just like they had discussed, the pair move to weaken their opponents right off the bat. However, the sibling duo also have a plan of their own.

"Frost, Protect brother!"

"Snowy, Mist please."

As Rufflet and Torch both move up to attack, the Walrein quickly dives on front of Abomasnow and raises an all round barrier with Protect. From this position the Protect prevents both the Leer and the Confuse Ray from hitting. Behind Walrein, as it protects them both, Abomasnow releases a cloud of mist from it's mouth, shrouding their side of the field.

"Ah!" Alfred knows Arthur had said that this could happen, he just didn't think it'd be so soon. He had hoped that they could get off at least one Leer, but now with that Mist, they can't cause any status changes. Add to that...

"Ru..."

"Lamp..."

Both Rufflet and Lampent are constantly taking damage from the hail, just like with the Sandstorm before.

"Torch, Energy Ball on Walrein."

Thankfully Arthur doesn't seem fazed by all this in the least, something Alfred is grateful for.

"Frost, block with Brine!"

Lampent quickly moves up, forming the ball in it's arms and fires it at the Walrein. Not moving from it's protective spot, the ice Pokemon simply raises it's head and shoots a jet of salty water from it's mouth, blocking the Energy Ball in it's stream and causing the attack to explode.

"Ruffy, get behind them and use Fury Attack on Abomasnow!"

"Sister together," The girl nods, and they both call "Blizzard."

Moving to the side, Walrein joins Abomasnow as they both release a power full double Blizzard from their mouths. With the hail, it's impossible to dodge and Rufflet is blasted back by the force of the attack.

"Now, Torch!" Arthur suddenly calls.

Despite the force of the attack, as their opponents were focused on Rufflet, Lampent had managed to push through the Blizzards and get behind Abomasnow. From it's position, Alfred can just about see Torch creating the fire of it's Inferno attack.

"Snowy, Wood Hammer!"

Ivan calls and, just before Torch get's the attack off, it is suddenly slammed into the ground and pinned there by the force of Abomasnow's arm.

"Aboma..." It grunts as it suffers the recoil damage from the powerful attack.

"That may work on other's but not me." Ivan casually says as he watches his Pokemon pin the ghost.

Alfred stares, he quickly looks to Arthur, only to find the man smirking again.

"Heh, bad move Ivan. I _really_ wouldn't have done that if I were you."

Arthur says this so calmly it's almost terrifying. Looking back out to the field Alfred's not sure what he means, until he see Abomasnow flash with fire, burned.

"Torch, Hex!"

Grabbing hold of Abomasnow's arm that is pinning it, Lampent's eyes glow purple and waves of ghost type energy engulf the ice Pokemon.

"Snoooowww!" It cries as it pulls back from the hit, power now doubled thanks to the burn.

Once free Lampent quickly climbs back into the air.

"Ah." Ivan says in understanding. By pinning Lampent, he accidentally activated it's ability, Flame Body. An over sight on his part, but no matter. Even as Abomasnow is attacked, his sister is quick to move.

"Brine!"

As Lampent is focused on getting away, Walrein aims to strike it with a close range attack.

"Ruffy, Wing Attack!"

But before the ice Pokemon can fire, Rufflet strikes it on the head with a strong Wing Attack, causing it to miss Lampent.

"Thanks."

"Don't worry, I got your back." The four separate back to a safe distance.

"Ruu..."

"L-Lam..." Their Pokemon whine, as they feel the hail cause them more damage, across from them Abomasnow too, takes damage from it's burn. Walrein, however, glows slightly as it heals from the falling hail.

"Hmph, that Walrein is going to be an issue. As long as this hailstorm keeps up, it'll keep healing."

"It's ability, right?" Alfred asks. He remembers Arthur mentioning that before.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

_"_ _Alright_ _, now pay attention Alfred this is important. The reason Ivan and Natalia are so strong is because they work well together. And not just them, but their Pokemon too. Even their Pokemon's abilities benefit each other, Abomasnow's Snow Warning, causes hail to begin falling when it comes out, and Walrein's Ice Body, allows it to heal constantly when it's hailing."_

_"_ _Oh_ _, won't that make it hard to defeat?"_

_"_ _Yes_ _, but I have a plan."_

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Yes. But for now, stick to the plan, focus on Ivan."

"Got ya! Ruffy, Peck than Abomasnow!"

"Frost, Protect brother!"

Once again, Walrein moves in front of Abomasnow and raises it's barrier. However, this time the pair were expecting the move and Rufflet easily twists and spins around the Protect to strike it's target.

"Snowy, Blizzard."

"Torch!"

Trapped between the pair, Rufflet has nowhere to go. But as the Abomasnow releases the attack, the Blizzard is intercepted from above by the fire of Torch's Inferno. Rufflet is blown out from the blast of the two attacks mixing, but is otherwise unharmed.

Alfred sighs in relief, that was a little too close.

"Ah, you are a lot better than I thought." Ivan remarks.

"You still won't win." Natalia adds, "Frost, Brine on Lampent."

"Ruffy, Wing Attack Abomasnow!"

"Snowy, Wood Hammer."

"Torch, dodge and use Inferno on Walrein!"

Moving together, Rufflet and Lampent cross paths in the air, making it difficult for Walrein to aim, allowing Torch to easily dodge the attack. As Rufflet moves down, so too does Torch, the pair moving in close to their targets and striking successfully, Lampent from the front, and Rufflet after swooping low to dodge the arm of Abomasnow.

"Waaaalll..." The Walrein cries as the fire attack leaves it with a burn, now the healing from the hail will be cancelled out by the damage from the burn.

"Ruffy, now Fury Attack on Walrein!"

"Torch, Hex on Walrein!"

Looping in the air, Rufflet doubles back and unleashes a barrage of attacks on the ice Pokemon. At the same time, Torch moves up and, like before, glares at the Walrein, it's power doubled from the burn it now has.

"Frost, Rock Tomb on Rufflet!"

"Snowy, Ingrain."

"Ah, Ruffy get out of there!"

Al calls but is too late. As Rufflet is still so close from attacking, Walrein easily traps it under the large stones it generates and throws at Ruffy.

"Ruffy!"

Meanwhile Abomasnow plunges it's roots into the ground, sucking up energy and healing itself.

"Torch, Energy Ball on those rocks, get Rufflet out of there!" Arthur calls to help.

"Sister," The siblings nod to each other, "Blizzard!" They call as one.

As Lampent forms it's attack, the pair of Ice type Pokémon releases their powerful double Blizzard once more and Torch is pushed back by the force, taking longer to focus and aim the ball. Rufflet, still trapped in the rocks, get's hit with the full force of the attack, the stones freezing over in the process.

Just as the Blizzard ends, Lampent manages to fire it's Energy Ball and blast apart the stones, but it's too late. Now revealed, Rufflet lies frozen, fainted within the rocks.

"Rufflet is no longer able to battle."

The refs call barely registers to Alfred as he stares at his poor defeated partner.

"Ruffy... no..."

' _No,_ _no_ _! We were supposed to win! We... we_ promise _Feliks_ _and Toris we would..._ ' Alfred bows his head as he recalls Rufflet to it's pokeball.

"Sorry, Al."

Alfred snaps his head back up at that. ' _Why's_ _Artie apologising? I'm the one that should be apologising for losing._ '

"Arti-"

"It's my fault. If I had _just_ been quicker... Rufflet wouldn't..."

Alfred is surprise by the... anger he can here in Arthur's voice, though, he's not sure why.

"But don't worry. We're still going to win this. Right Torch?"

"Laaaaampent!"

He blinks at the sudden change, one second Arthur sounded _so_ angry, the next, he's smiling.

"Well, now it's just us against you, Arthur. Hehe, but I don't think even _you_ are strong enough to beat us on your own."

"Hah, oooh, you have know idea. Torch!"

"Lamp?"

"No more holding back."

"Laaaammmmpent!"

Alfred's not sure what to make of this. Does that mean all this time Arthur's been holding back, or is he just saying that because he's getting serious? Either way, he watches the fight, giving Arthur and Torch all the support he can.

"Hehe, we'll see. Snowy, Blizzard."

"Frost, Blizzard!"

Al watches as the two send out there strongest combination once more. But is surprised when Arthur doesn't give a command, looking over, he sees his friend has his eyes closed.

' _Wait_ _, didn't he do this before?_ '

"Waaaallll!" Alfred hears the crowd gasp and the Pokemon cry out. Looking back to the field, Torch is somehow behind the pair, looking untouched by the Blizzard, a dust cloud from an explosion rising up from the Walrein's back.

"Wha?"

But he doesn't have time to finish his question, as Torch quickly transitions into Hex and causes further damage to Walrein.

"Waaaallll..."

The ice Pokemon is now barely standing, the siblings must also be in shock from the quick succession of attacks, as they only now give out their next command.

"Snowy, Wood Hammer! Pin Lampent!" Ivan calls sounding angry at how much damage Torch has caused to his sisters Pokemon so quickly.

' _This_ _doesn't make sense..._ ' Al ponders as he watches, looking between Arthur and Torch. Arthur still has his eyes closed and hasn't said a word, yet Torch is reacting faster than ever as if he's being told exactly what to do. ' _But_ _Arthur must be giving command somehow..._ _maybe_ _visual cues?_ ' He thinks, but that can't be right, Arthur can't see with his eyes closed and even with his back to them, Lampent still appears to be following some sort of command.

"Laaaaa!" Torch cries out as it's hit and pinned once more and, strangely, Alfred can see Arthur flinching back as if he was hit. His eyes snap open and he glares out at the field, but still doesn't speak.

"Frost, Rock Tomb!" Al hears Natalia call, planning to trap Lampent while Abomasnow has it pinned.

"I know... wait for it..." He can just about hear Arthur whispering.

"Now."

As Walrein forms the rocks, ready to drop them on Lampent, Torch's eyes glow and it uses Hex once more on it.

"Waaaalllll..." Crying out in pain, Walrein faints, rocks of it's attack, now no longer controlled, fall from their suspension above the pair and hit Abomasnow instead.

"Snnooooowww." It grunts as it's hit and, taking advantage of the situation, Lampent quickly uses Hex again, this time on Abomasnow, freeing itself.

"Abmaaa..."

"Laaaammmppp..."

"Walrein is on longer able to battle." The Ref calls as Natalia huffs annoyed and recalls her Pokemon.

"Sorry, big brother." She quietly apologises.

"No, do not fret. It seems we may have underestimated our opponents. Well Arthur, you certainly are full of surprises. Hmm, but I do not think you can win, your Pokemon doesn't look to be doing to well."

It's true, Alfred can see that Torch is struggling, he's no doubt taken major damage from that last hit, plus the accumulated damage from the hail, he really can't take much more of this. And, oddly, beside him Arthur is also breathing heavily.

"We're not done yet! Torch!"

"Laaaammm!"

Diving forward, Lampent creates another flame of Inferno and fires it at Abomasnow.

"Snowy, Blizzard!"

The two attacks are their most powerful yet, their meeting creates a huge explosion that blasts the two apart. A large dust cloud is caused by the blast and, Alfred sees a green light passing through the cloud as the blast force can still be felt and hears Abomasnow cry out.

"Snnnoooowww..."

Torch must have sent of an Energy Ball even while being blasted back. It's an agonising wait for the cloud to clear and the pair to become visible again.

"Both Abomasnow and Lampent are on longer able to continue! The match is a draw!" Silence follows.

The sound of Arthur dropping to the ground beside him breaks the spell, and the crowd cheer. Alfred quickly drops to his knees beside him and worriedly looks over his friend.

' _Why_ _does he look so exhausted?_ '

"Arthur?"

"Fine, Fine." He mumbles from his slumped position sitting on the ground, waving his hand at Al, though the movement is sluggish and slow. Al watches as he recalls Torch.

"Hah, sorry, you did well." He says to his Pokemon.

"Arthur? That was quite some battle." The pair look up to see Ivan and his sister standing in front of them.

"Heh, Yeah." Arthur says, still sounding breathless.

"You didn't suck." Natalia simply says.

"A good match." Ivan nods as he offers his hand, Arthur reaching up to take it, they shake, and in the background the crowd cheers even louder.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

After the match, there is a short break to set up for the awards ceremony. Back stage, they meet up with Feliks and Toris while Nurse Joy tends to their Pokemon. Alfred's also surprise to see Freya and Blanche again, they must have won the battle for third place.

"OMG! Guys! You, like, so totally rocked out there!" Feliks cries, unable to contain himself as he bounds over to the pair.

"I was on the edge of my seat." Toris adds as he joins them.

"You guys were soooooo cooooool!" Freya squeals up at them.

"Thanks guys, but it was really all Artie. We would have definitely lost if it weren't for him."

"Alfred?"

"Yeah?"

"Come over here." Alfred, confused, approaches Arthur. The man had dropped into the nearest seat as soon as they made it into the room.

"Oooowwww!" He complains, rubbing the back of his head where Arthur had ruthlessly hit him, "What was that for?!"

"One, for calling me that _horrible_ nickname. Two, for saying that. It wasn't just me who fought, without you, we never would have stood a chance. You and Ruffy are just as much a part of our draw as Torch and I are." He says smiling slightly.

"It's true." Ivan agrees, "But, I am curious about how you battled out there, I have never seen anything quite like it."

"Yeah," Al nods, he too has been wondering about that, "you barely spoke and sometimes you had your eyes closed."

"Ah! I have heard about something like this before." Toris suddenly jumps in.

"Really?"

"Yes. Oh, what was it called..." Toris frowns as he tries to remember.

"It's nothing!" Arthur snaps angrily, suddenly very defensive.

"But..."

"It's. Nothing. Drop it." He bites out, daring anyone to continue with his eyes. An awkward silence descends on them all.

"Alright, everyone. It's almost time, Nurse Joy are you ready?" The announcer asks as he comes in.

"Yes, I'm all done here." She says as she brings their Pokemon over, Ruffy quick to perch himself back on Alfred's head. Torch quickly dives under Arthur's cloak, back to his usual fearful self now that their not battling.

"Laaa..."

"Ah, sorry boy." Arthur apologises for some reason.

"Alright, then, there's just one more thing..."

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back to the stage one last time, our victors of Poké Week. First the Contest. Third place goes to, Feliks Łukasiewicz and his Cutiefly! Second place goes to, Ivan Braginsk and his Sunflora! And of course first place goes to the wonderful, Toris Laurinaitis and his amazing Golett. Next the tag battle tournament. Third place goes to, Freya Easeil and Blanche Ashwood and their partners, Vulpix and Ninetales! And tied for first place, Ivan Braginsk and his sister Natalia Arlovskaya, with their partners, Abomasnow and Walrein. And finally, Alfred Jones and Arthur Kirkland, with their partners, Rufflet and Lampent!"

They all walk out with their Pokemon as they're called, Ivan standing with his sister in the middle, Toris to his side, Feliks beside him. Alfred stands to Natalia's side, Arthur then Freya and Blanche on the other. Mr. wick presents the Contest winners with their prizes first.

"Feliks, very well done." He says as he presents him with a participation ribbon and 1,000 credits.

"Ivan, that was a very close contest out there, very well done." He too is given a participation ribbon and 2,000 credits.

"Toris, a most excellent show out there today, please know that you deserve this." To Toris he gives the maroon and grass green Open contest ribbon and 4,000 credits.

Stepping back, Mr. Oxenstierna takes over to present the tournament winners their prizes.

"You did well." He says as he give Freya and Blanche a selection of berries and 1,000 credits.

Coming over to the four of them, the man nods, and Alfred suddenly feels very proud.

"That was a great battle, you all did well." He moves to Ivan first, giving him a Choice Scarf and 3,000 credits between him and his sister. He then goes over to Arthur, who no longer looks exhausted, and presents him with a Dawn Stone and another 3,000 credits for them both. Alfred blinks as the man leans over and whisper something in Arthur's ear that makes him go still, before pulling back and patting him on the shoulder nodding.

"And that's it folks! Once again, thank you all for joining us for this amazing week!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! So the tournament end's in a draw, who saw that coming? So the boy's now have more money! And a dawn stone. And what did Sweden say?
> 
> Next time, we're back on the road to the next gym!
> 
> Review's are always appreciated.
> 
> Till next time, stay awesome!


	20. On the road again

As the sun shines high in the sky, the four friends stand outside the Pokemon center, ready to depart.

"So, what are you guy's going to do now?" Al asks the coordinators.

"Isn't obvious? Off to the next contest! We, so, like, have to win a ribbon now." Feliks proudly proclaims as if he was the first place winner.

"It's true. If we want to make it into the next master class, we need to keep moving or we won't making to the next contest on time." Toris explains.

"Well, where's the next contest then?"

"Lux City."

"Oh, Hey! That's not far from the farm!"

"Oh, Yeah, that's like, where you grew up right?"

"Yeah. If you're going that way, say hi to my folks for me, and Mattie too. My mom makes the _best_ berry pie you've ever had." Alfred's mouth is watering just thinking about his moms cooking again.

"Alright! Then it's decided, we so totally have to visit for some of that awesome pie!" Feliks too, is beginning to drool at the idea.

"Ah, you are still here. Good, I thought I might have missed you." Ivan suddenly says coming out of the center behind them. Feliks quickly dives behind Toris to hide from the man.

"Ah, Hello Ivan." Arthur nods to the tall man.

"Hello," he says back, "I didn't have the chance to ask before, but where might you be heading next?"

"The National Park, to the next gym!" Al happily answers.

"The gym, hmm? Ah! In that case, please give this to the gym leader when you see her, she'll know who it's from." He says as he pulls a small parcel out of his bag. The box is no bigger than his hand, and is wrapped in a brightly coloured ribbon. Alfred looks it over before Arthur takes it from him, slipping it safely into on of the many compartments of his bag.

"I'll make sure it's delivered safely." He says, patting the bag.

"For now, I wish you the best of luck." At this, Ivan grabs the pair in a strong bear hug before stepping back, "But now we must be off, Sister?"

"Yes, big brother?" Natalia asks, materialising next to Ivan seemingly out of nowhere.

"Shall we be off?" She nods, sending a somewhat friendly glare at the pair before they depart.

"Well, we best be off too." Toris says as Feliks comes out of hiding.

"Alright, see you guys around."

The four wave as they part ways.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

Outside town, Alfred decides to let Bouffy out to enjoy some fresh air.

"Boouuu!" He cries happily once out.

"Ruuufff!" Rufflet cries as he moves off from Alfred's head to perch on Bouffalant's horn.

"Hehe, Alright guy's, let's enjoy this open space, what do you say?"

"Bouuu!"

"Ruu!"

"Hahaha!" Al laughs as he runs ahead, his Pokemon joining him.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"So, How far is it to the Park?"

"Well, judging by the map... I'd say another day or two." Arthur says as the pair sit down for a lunch break, while he looks over the map in Al's dex as he cooks. Their Pokemon relaxing in the field around them.

"Hey, what do you think is in that box Ivan gave us?"

"Probably a gift of some sort."

"What, like, as in friendly or..."

"Friendly." Arthur says confidently.

Still, curiosity gets the better of him and he looks over at Arthur's bag, at the compartment where he knows the box is. He quickly glances to Arthur, he's completely focused on cooking, so Al sneaks over to the bag. One quick peak won't hurt...

"Pum! Pum, Pumpka!" Pumpkin suddenly appears in front of Al's face, preventing him from getting to the bag unnoticed.

"Wah! Geez, Pumpkin, give me a heart attack why don't you." He grumbles as he sits back.

"Ivan entrusted us to deliver that, _not_ to go poking around in his business." Arthur calmly scolds, not looking away from his cooking.

"Okay, okay." Alfred says as he raises his hands and backs away.

"Pum." Pumpkaboo nods as she floats back over to join Arthur.

Flopping back, Al looks up to the cloudy sky. Winter is approaching, he can tell by the chill in the air and the western wind blowing the clouds along. Bored, he decides to cloud watch until food’s ready. He dosn't notice himself drifting off, thoughts of home filling his mind.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

_Sitting_ _on the couch Al leans forward, engrossed in the battle happening on screen._

_"_ **_Ferrothorn_ _, Gyro Ball!_ ** _"_

_"_ **_Che_ _, Fire Blast!_ ** _"_

_The_ _two members of the elite for, locked in an intense battle, call out their commands. Houndoom charges across the field using it's superior speed to easily keep away from the spinning Ferrothorn. Skidding to a halt behind the Grass and Steal type Pokémon, The Houndoom swiftly launches a powerful Fire Blast from it's mouth._

_"_ **_Power_ _Whip into the ground now!_ ** _"_

_Swinging_ _it's vine legs harshly into the field, Ferrothorn blasts dirt into the air, blocking the fire attack from landing._

_"_ **_Now_ _, Rollout!_ ** _"_

_Bursting_ _out of the dirt cloud, the Steal Pokemon roughly smacks into the Houndoom, sending it flying._

_"_ **_Houndoom_ _can no longer continue, Ferrothorn wins. The match goes to Ludwig!_ ** _"_

_"_ _Aww_ _man! I really thought Lovino was gonna win this time!" Al cries out as the match ends._

_"_ _Hehe_ _, that's 200 for me." Mattie laughs from his side, hand out, waiting for his twin to pay up._

_"_ _Damn_ _it." He grumbles as he hands over the money._

_"_ _But_ _he clearly had the type advantage, how could he lose?"_

_"I told_ _you_ _, Lovino is too much of a hothead, he's all about straight up attacking without thinking ahead."_

_"_ _Boys_ _?" Their mother calls from the kitchen._

_"Yeah?"_ _They_ _asks as they come through to her calling._

_"_ _It's_ _time to round up the Miltank. Could you go find your father and Gilbert please?"_

_"Sure_ _thing_ _mom!"_

_With_ _that the pair head out to the ranch, looking for the others to begin the weekly round up._

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Al..."

A call above him pulls Alfred from his dream, the smell of burnt food drifting over causes him to open his eyes.

"Huh? Artie?"

Frowning, Arthur delivers a swift kick to Al's side for the nickname before wandering back over to the camp. Sitting up, Al watches as he piles some sort of stew into two bowls. He quickly climbs to his feet and joins his friend, stomach rumbling.

Sitting down to eat, Alfred ponders his dream. It's been a while since he left home... maybe he should call them at the next center... Now that he thinks about it, Arthur hasn't ever mentioned his home, besides his brothers.

"Hey Art-" The man glares at him, "-hur, don't you miss home? You've been traveling for a while right, don't you ever think of going back?" Alfred's not sure why, but Arthur grows still at that and pales slightly.

"Why do you ask?" He questions, dodging answering.

"Well, cause I've been thinking on how long I've been gone, and, well, I miss home."

"Hmm, it's natural to feel homesick. But journeying is about leaving home and finding your own way in life, at least, that's how I see it."

"Finding my own way?" Arthur nods.

"You left to become a Pokemon master, right? That's not something you can do staying at home, but it's also not something anyone can tell you how to do. It's a goal you must work towards, learning as you go and becoming better day by day."

"Yeah! Your right!" Al nods happily. Arthur's right, even if he misses home, he's still along way from his goal. But he's getting closer day by day, just look at him now, sitting completely at ease with three ghost Pokemon. He even was beginning to be completely fine around Golett, even if it was from a distance. And he's made a bunch of friends, Arthur, Feliks, Toris, even Ivan.

"So is that why you left, to become a ghost type master I mean. Because you couldn't do that at home?"

"Yes..." Arthur answers slowly before sighing, "Though... that's not the only reason I left."

"It's not?"

"No... Al, truth is... I... I ran away."

"Wait, what?" Al stares. He never would have thought _Arthur_ of all people to have run away from home, "why?" Arthur looks away from his questioning stare.

"Look, I don't want to talk about it." He snaps, becoming defensive again. He tugs almost subconsciously at his cloak before abruptly standing and walking away.

"Pum? Pum, ka!" Pumpkin cries out as she quickly follows after him.

' _Must_ _be a touchy subject. Is that why he doesn't talk about home?_ ' Alfred questions within his mind, wondering what happened to make Arthur like this.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

The pair spend the next few days traveling in relative comfort. Though...

"Ahahahahaha." Arthur laughs as they walk.

"It's not funny!" Al cries, still pulling mud and grass from his hair.

" _Oh_ , it is. It _really_ is. Ahaha." Arthur continues to laugh at Alfred's state.

"Misssss."

"Urgh..." He grumbles as Casper joins in.

He had just wanted to catch that Drilbur, but no. The thing, as soon as it realised Alfred's intentions, had used Mud-Slap and Dig like no one's business. Now both he and his Pokemon were covered in mud and grass, with nothing to show for it. And Arthur had just stood there and laughed as the Pokemon gave him the run around.

Miserable from the failure and being made fun of, he doesn't even notice where there going until he nearly walks into Arthur's back as he abruptly stops.

"Here we go." Al looks up from trying to pull a particularly large piece of drying mud from his hair to see where Arthur has lead them.

A gentle river greets him, flowing through the small valley he now finds himself in.

"Well, what are you waiting for?"

"Huh?" Arthur rolls his eyes.

"Go clean up, idiot." He says as he lightly smacks him on the back of the head, causing bits of mud and grass to fall out.

"Oh, right."

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

Now clean Alfred takes the time to look around. Behind them a large gently sloping hill meets him. They must have walked down it without him noticing. Looking forwards, he can see the sprinkling of trees becoming more dense. So, they must be heading into another forest soon. Which means...

"Hey, is that the National Park?"

"Yes, see the gate entrance up ahead?"

Squinting at the tree line, he can just about see the tall wire fence that surrounds the park, the entrance a barely visible gap from this distance.

"Sweet! New badge, here I come!" Al cries as he jumps up, running off to enter the park.

"Idiot." Arthur chuckles behind him as he and their Pokemon follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the friends have parted ways, but who knows, they may meet up again. Not much really happens here, buuuut, now you know who two of the elite four are. And Canada makes a reappearance, even if it is just in a dream flashback thing.
> 
> So next time, we're entering the Terra Gorge National Park. What shenanigans will happen here? Stay tune to find out!
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Till next time, stay awesome!


	21. Into the National Park

Alfred stares up at the metal sign arching over the entrance to the park, written across it:

**Terra Gorge**

**National Park**

Stretching out on both sides as far as he can see is the 20 foot high fence. The large metal gates are closed over, odd since he could have sworn that they were open before.

"So, the next gym is somewhere in here?" He asks, mostly to himself.

"Yes." Arthur answers from behind him, Pokemon casually trailing behind them.

"So... uh, how do we get in?" Looking to the solid gates, Al watches as Arthur walks up and swipes his trainer card in a panel built into the fence just right of the gates. The screen lights up and shows Arthur's details and he taps a few keys and turns to Al.

"Alright, your card?"

"Oh, sure." Quickly walking up he swipes his card as well and watches as his info appears on screen as well. Arthur taps a few more keys, Alfred catching glimpses of the screens he easily navigates, party size, reason for visiting and so on. On the last screen Arthur pauses and thinks for a moment, before making his choice. The panel buzzes electronically before giving a green light and dropping something out of the slot in the bottom, beside them, the gates give a sound of a lock being released and slowly swing open. Arthur takes the items from the panel and hands some to Alfred, an entry pass and 3 green pokeballs.

"So how long do you think it'll take to get to the gym?" He asks as he pockets the items.

"Well, so long as we stay on the path, we should make it to the park centre in a few days."

"A few days?!" Al exclaims, Arthur sighing and rolling his eyes.

"Yes, Al, a few days. This _is_ the National Park." He says as he walks through the gate, unfazed by Alfred’s shock.

"Just how big is the park anyway?" Alfred is quick to follow, the gates closing behind them.

"Very. After all, the Gorge _is_ at it's centre, and that's several miles long on its own. The park itself is a nature reserve for a number of rare Pokémon species. Their's a quota on the number of Pokemon of each species that can be caught each year, so any Pokemon you catch here has to be specially registered at the park centre. Otherwise you could be fined or even prosecuted for attempted poaching."

"Really?"

"Only if you don't clear your catch, otherwise, it's completely fine to catch any Pokemon you want here. That's what the pass and pokeballs are for, so long as you're in here, you can only use those Park balls."

"Oh."

"And since we're heading to the centre anyway, it'll be fine."

"Geez, how do you know all of this? I just thought the park was a huge wilderness full of awesome Pokémon, didn't know that I could get in so much trouble for catching something here." Alfred grumbles as they walk. The trees here are much taller that those back at the Dark Woods, making him feel tiny in comparison. Looking around, the place is much lighter than the dullness that the other woods had, the stone path reverberates their footsteps as they walk. The path itself is quite wide, enough space to easily drive two cars down, lined with the trees, besides the fence, it seems to be the only man made thing for miles around.

"Hmm," Arthur hums, drawing his attention back to the man, "Well, it was probably a bit before your time, but do you remember The Frozen Spring?" He says this as if there were more than just a 4 year age gap between them, but, he does have a point.

"Dude, I was like, 2 then, course I don't remember."

"Didn't think so."

" _But_ , I _do_ remember dad telling me about it. The eastern winds didn't bring the warmer air with them like they should have, and a storm system up north brought the cold air from the mountains down. So the whole region right up to the coast line out east was covered in snow."

"Yes, well, the cold had a major effect on the wildlife, those that raised their young on the spring grasses couldn't find enough food and the populations suffered as a result. And not just them, those that relied on the large number of grazers also suffered as their was less to hunt. On it's own, this wouldn't have been too bad, but at the time, poachers were taking advantage of all the vulnerable Pokemon caught out in the cold, causing mass crashes in the numbers of rare species."

"Yeah, I remember dad saying how the farm suffered too. We couldn't grow our crops in the cold, so the wild Pokémon that relied on the extras from our fields couldn't find enough food and crammed into the farm. We had to buy loads of Pokémon food to help feed them all. But what's that got to do with anything?"

"The Frozen Spring was the reason that the park has been fenced off, to help the Pokemon bounce back and protect them from poachers. For the first 3 years, no one but the park rangers were allowed in, and the catching quota wasn't introduced for another 2."

"Oh, I get it. So the park was made to help save the Pokemon living here."

"Exactly."

Looking around at all the greenery and sounds of life coming from all around them, Alfred can't imagine this place covered with ice and snow, or being so empty that they had to fence the place off to bring the numbers back up.

"Hey, isn't there a story that an Articuno was the cause of it?"

"Maybe. Though, that would have to be one very angry Articuno to freeze over the entire region."

"Burr, remind me to never piss off one then?"

"Hehe, sure, if we're ever lucky enough to see one." Arthur laughs at the idea, heading further down the path.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

Night fall comes a lot quicker these days, and in the forest it's even more noticeable, forcing the pair to make camp for the night before it becomes too dark to see.

"Al, grab some fire wood, I'll go find us some fresh water." Arthur tells him as he drops his bag by a tree and taking out his water bottle, letting pumpkaboo out to help with the search. Her internal light shining the way as they go.

"Sure thing, come on Ruffy." He says as he too, drops his bag and hands over his bottle before he gets to searching, Rufflet flying along side him.

The sun must have dropped below the horizon by now, as the last remaining lights in the sky are quickly fading. Not wandering too far for fear of getting lost, Al circles around the trees near where their bags sit, picking up sticks and rocks to make a campfire. In the quiet he can hear the trees above rustling. At first he dismisses it as the wind, or the forest Pokemon, but, the sounds are _definitely_ getting closer. A particularly loud snap of branches above his head makes him drop his pile and spin around, looking up to where the sounds are coming from.

"H-hello?" He calls up to the trees.

"Ru?"

"Ruffy, go see what's up there." He cautiously watches as his Pokemon nods and flies up into the tree branches, but it's so dark now, he can barely even see Rufflet up there.

"Anyth-waaahh!" Al's question is cut short by his scream as a group of rather unhappy Burmy and Wormadam drop down from the trees, annoyed at being disturbed from their sleep.

"Aaahhh, hehe, eh, sorry. Didn't mean to wake you guys." He apologises, glad that it was nothing more.

"Ruff, Rufflet." His pokemon says as he comes back down, doing the bird equivalent of a shrug while flying.

"Hehe, guess it was nothing then." He shrugs too in relief.

Picking his pile back up, he returns to their bags and gets to work setting up the campfire.

Once the fire is going he sits back and looks around, frowning. Arthur's been gone a while now.

' _It_ _shouldn't_ _be_ that _hard_ _to find fresh water here, should it?_ '

He sits and waits, but the longer he waits the more anxious and worried he gets.

' _He_ _should_ definitely _have_ _been back by now._ '

Making his mind up, he stands and walks out to the limits of the fire light, squinting into the dark.

"Artie?" He calls out, hoping the man isn't too far off. But only the sounds of the forest can be heard.

"Artie?!" He calls louder, still nothing.

"Come on man..." Worried, Al walks further out.

" **Artie!? Where are you?!** " His voice booms, bouncing and echoing off the trees.

Silence.

XoxoxoxoxoxoX

A short while ago...

Arthur leaves Alfred to his task as he takes their water bottles and heads off to find a spring or river, Pumpkin by his side, lighting the way.

He's done this enough times, it's not hard for him to know where to look. He follows the slope of the land and the denseness of the vegetation, knowing that both will lead him to a source of water.

"Pum, Pum, boo." Pumpkaboo says bumping softly into his side.

"Hehe, yes." He agrees with her. The Dark Woods are much nicer than here, though, he supposes they're both a bit biased, those woods were full of many ghosts that they could make friends with.

"Maybe there’ll be some ghosts here for you to make friends with?"

"Pum!" She cheerily replies, looking forward to the prospect. Even if Alfred might hate the idea, Arthur can't deny he would like to meet some ghosts here.

"Ah, here we go." He says as he spies the glimmer of water reflecting light through the trees. A small drop, and their both standing at the edge of a rock lined spring. Arthur hums quietly as he fills their bottles.

"Pum?" A rustling from the trees behind them draws Pumpkin's attention.

"Hmm? Something there?" Arthur asks as he sets the bottles down and comes over to join his Pokemon.

Squinting into the dark reveals nothing but the trees.

"Pum, pum, ka, pum." Pumpkaboo says, floating out a bit more but still seeing nothing.

"Hmm, Alright." Arthur reluctantly agrees, closing his eyes.

' _Might_ _as well have a look...'_

Pumpkin stands guard at his side while he searches, but he finds nothing and reopens his eyes.

"Must have just been the wind." He tells her turning back to collect the bottles.

"Puuum... Ka! Pumpka!" Arthur jumps back at the warning, barely missing the Water Gun aimed at him from the spring. In the water, a Poliwag is watching him closely.

"Ah! Hey, what was that for?" He asks, annoyed at being attacked.

"Poli..." It says, shooting water at him again before diving back under.

"Hey!" Wet and seriously annoyed, Arthur stomps over to the spring, planning to give the mischievous Pokémon a talking to, only, as he leans over the water...

"Poooooolllliiiii..." The water Pokemon sits just below the surface, looking up, it waits for Athur to look it dead in the eyes, before using Hypnosis on him.

"Ah!" Stumbling backwards, Arthur holds his head as he tries to fight the moves effects.

"Pumpka!" Pumpkaboo cries as she sees her trainer stumble and fall to the ground, knocked out by the attack.

"Puuuummm!" She cries angrily as she fires a Shadow Ball into the spring, hoping to hit the Poliwag, the blast throwing water from the pool and sending the bottles to the ground. In her anger, she doesn't see the Pokemon hiding it the trees, until it's too late. Using Teleport, it appears directly in front of her and uses Hypnosis, sending her to sleep on top of her trainer, still trying to protect him even as she succumbs.

"Poli?"

"Kir."

Using it's psychic powers, the Pokemon carries the pair away into the night, leaving only the forgotten bottles behind...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And into another forest we go. I think it's about time we have a bit of a cliffhanger... What's happened to Arthur? Will Alfred find him? Who's the mystery Pokemon? Stay tuned to find out!
> 
> See you all in the New Year!
> 
> R & R people.
> 
> Till next time stay awesome!

**Author's Note:**

> The first ever chapter of my first ever public fic. I’m now in the slow process of cross posting all my stuff over to here from my FF.net (same name), so if you can’t wait for the next chapter here, then head on over there! And if you like this, check out my tumblr (again, same name) where I occasionally post art to go along with the story.


End file.
